Mount Shuksan
Elain and I had been talking about climbing the North Face of Mount Shuksan for over a year. During our previous weekend's climb of Shuksan via the White Salmon Glacier we had familiarized ourselves with the approach and the descent route. The forecast called for a freezing level of 4000' and "brief window of good weather" to develop during Saturday night and Sunday morning, before a low-pressure system would arrive on Sunday. Since the approach trail along the slopes of the White Salmon Creek valley were melting out more and more each week, and we did not relish the thought of doing that approach without plentiful snow cover, we decided to give it a shot. On Saturday morning, we drove to Glacier and attempted to sign in at the ranger station. We found that the Glacier ranger station is closed until May, and apparently we would need to go to Sedro-Woolley to get our permit. We discussed the matter and decided that we had made a "good faith" effort to sign in, and to continue on towards the trailhead. We arrived at the gate at the spur road to the Mount Baker Ski Area at 8:30 AM. This time we wisely parked the Jeep outside the gate of the ski area. It was cool and partly cloudy. By 9:00 we were walking.
Because this was our third time making the White Salmon Creek valley approach in three weeks, we made pretty good time on the trail. Within two hours, we arrived at the moraine of the White Salmon Glacier at 4200'. The mountain had changed significantly in appearance from the previous weekend. Apparently there had been quite a bit of snowfall on the upper mountain during the week. The new snowfall would be sitting on a well-established ice crust. We surveyed the enormous swaths of avalanche debris with some trepidation. Just beyond the moraine, we left our snowshoes and headed northeast toward the ridge where we would make camp. We ascended up into the cloud layer, and at 2:30 PM the slope angle decreased and the altimeter read 5500'. We surmised that we must have reached the ridge. There, we pitched camp while waiting for a break in the clouds. When the cloud layer lifted, we walked over to the east side of the ridge, to survey the approach to the base of the North Face. We saw lots of unconsolidated snow and avalanche debris. Although the first 1/3 of the route looked non-technical, we would have to traverse across a loaded slope 75m above the ice cliff of a small hanging glacier. We spent the next couple of hours melting snow and making dinner. By 7:00 PM we were asleep.
At 4:15 we awoke and started packing for the climb. Because we would be doing the climb as a carry-over, it took a bit longer than usual to break camp and pack our gear. By 5:30, we were walking towards the route. It was cold with clear skies overhead, and no wind. At the base of the North Face, we started climbing up. There was over a foot of new snow on the face, which made for tedious step kicking. About 100m up the face, I reached a very brief ice step, at which point I got out my ice tool and placed a screw. However, just a few meters above it, the angle kicked back a bit, and I went back into my step-kicking transe. At 6700', we reached an ice boulder that had fallen from a hanging glacier above. We perched behind the boulder for a brief rest. At this point, we looked upward and surveyed the route. Directly above was another hanging glacier, which we would have to bypass. Following Beckey's recommendation, we decided to head for the rock band to the right of the hanging glacier. The traverse underneath the hanging glacier felt tremendously exposed to avalanche and icefall, and I moved as quickly as possible. At the rock band, I climbed up and around a snow fluting below a rock promontory, placing a piton in a crack in the rock. A bit further up, I reached a ridge where the slope angle relaxed a bit. The next 900' of climbing sapped my energy, and my pace started to slow down quite a bit. We passed a small bergschrund on the left, and I aimed for a band of rock slabs where I hoped we would find a small spot to rest. No such luck, the slope steepened above the rock slabs. The altimeter read 7800', so I figured the steepest part of the route was the next 350'. I placed a picket and belayed Elain up to me. I was feeling tired, so Elain took a couple of pickets and started leading up. The wind had picked up and was blowing some spindrift down the face. The mountains to the north, east and west of Shuksan were ensconced in dark storm clouds, but directly above us a small patch of blue stubbornly persisted. Elain kicked steps up approximately three pitches of steep snow, and we reached the shoulder at the top of the North Face (8200') at 10:30.
After a brief break to rest and hydrate, we discussed our next move. With the weather looking dubious, and the fact that we had climbed the summit pyramid the previous weekend, we had no interest in tagging the true summit. We considered two different descent options. A descending traverse of the Hanging Glacier and across the Upper Curtis Glacier to the West Ridge looked feasible and quite direct, but we did not know the extent of the crevassing or serac hazard on that path. We were particularly concerned about a white-out occuring while descending cliffy and crevassed terrain. We decided to "play it safe" and take the recommended, but longer, route. This involved traversing an ice plateau of the Hanging Glacier, and then climbing up to the col between the Crystal and the Hanging Glacier at 8400'. The clouds rolled in thick at this point, and we had to navigate to the col by compass. My altimeter indicated dropping barometric pressure, confirming the obvious. On the other side of the col, we started a descending traverse of the Crystal Glacier. Initially we tried a high traverse, but the slope angle was too steep for efficient travel, and we dropped down to 8200'. Visibility was reduced to about 30m, and it was impossible to discern any features of the terrain. I programmed the GPS to guide us half a kilometer due south. We traversed across the Crystal Glacier for what seemed like a long time, but every time we tried to turn right, we met with steep slopes and seracs that indicated we had not yet reached the Southeast Ridge. Eventually we dropped down to 8000', and traversed along a plateau. We stopped to get a drink from water bottles that were now mostly ice and slush. Although we were incredulous that it could take so long to move such a short distance on the map, the GPS indicated we were still just shy of the ridge. Eventually, a cresent of blue appeared through the mist. We climbed up to it, and discovered it was a short ice step. I clambored ungracefully over the step, hoping to find the gentle slopes of the Sulphide Glacier on the other side. Instead, I came to a bergschrund. Elain soon joined me and we discussed whether to continue or to camp and wait for a break in the weather. We decided to first have a look on the other side of the bergschrund. It was impassable on the right, so we doubled back and tried to pass it via a snow bridge on the left. I warily kicked steps up steep snow, hoping I would not punch through into the schrund. Once above the schrund, we were delighted to find that the slope started descending to the west. We had reached the Sulphide.
On the Sulphide Glacier, it was a white-out, zero visibility. We needed to cross the Sulphide Glacier and descend approximately 200' to reach the mouth of Hell's Highway, a slope that connects the Sulphide Glacier with the Upper Curtis Glacier. We broke out the map and estimated the coordinates for Hell's Highway, and entered the coordinates into the GPS. Our progress across the Sulphide was very slow, because with each step we had to squint to see if we were approaching a crevasse. We initially passed a couple of large crevasses on the eastern edge of the Sulphide, but after that we knew the Sulphide was mostly crevasse free. Nevertheless, our pace was quite slow. Perhaps due to the cold temperatures, the GPS started indicating "low battery", which almost seemed comically unfortunate given the circumstances. I turned it off and switched to using a compass, with intermittent checks of the GPS to confirm our position. Eventually, the GPS indicated that we were within 75m of the entrance to Hell's Highway, but we could not see anything. Elain rested while I unroped and went exploring. Just slightly uphill, I saw the faint outlines of the rock gendarme that marks the entrance to Hell's Highway. Elain was initially skeptical, but when she joined me, we agreed it was the right spot. We quickly walked down the initial snow ramp, and then carefully down-climbed the steep lower snow slope.
Once we were on the Curtis Glacier, the clouds briefly parted, revealing a set of fresh tracks leading up and across the Curtis Glacier. After a short break, we started following the tracks. Just beyond the Hourglass, the clouds rolled in again, and it started snowing and blowing hard. Visibility went to zero, and the tracks vanished. We traversed for a while across the Curtis Glacier, but I failed to heed Elain's warnings to "stay high on the traverse" and I took us straight towards some crevasses. We ascended 100' to avoid the crevasses, and resumed our traverse for a bit. The GPS was not as helpful for this part, because the safe route across the Curtis has a sharp bend to get around crevasses. A momentary part in the clouds indicated some crevasses along our intended direction of travel, before we were once again enveloped in the mist. The wind picked up and was driving hail into us, slowing our progress. We decided that instead of risking a crevasse fall, we would stop and rest, and wait for a possible break in the weather. We dug a makeshift pit and got inside the tent. The Upper Curtis Glacier had an unbelievable amount of unconsolidated snow. I hoped the White Salmon would not have as much, because it is steeper and more avalanche-prone.
During our rest, we discussed the relative hazards of traversing the Curtis Glacier and descending the avalanche-prone slopes of the White Salmon, versus staying put and risking the development of a real storm. After 30 minutes or so, we had warmed up a bit, and the wind seemed to die down a bit. We decided to try to reach Shuksan Arm, where we could at least hunker down and find protection from the southerly wind. We had just started walking when I was startled to see two figures emerge from the mist. I wandered over to exchange pleasantries. They had climbed up the White Salmon Glacier route in the morning, and were on their way down from an aborted (but nearly successful) summit attempt. The clouds parted a bit, revealing that we were right on the correct route across the Curtis. We started descending towards Shuksan Arm, and reached the ridge at 6:00 PM. On the north side of Shuksan Arm we would be out of the wind, and below 6800', we would be below the cloud layer. We decided to descend the White Salmon and, if necessary, camp at the moraine. The descent of the White Salmon went smoothly, but was tedious. We reached the moraine at 7:30 PM. We were relieved to be off the White Salmon without having triggered a slide. In the fading daylight we retrieved our snowshoes and started our hike out. The hike out was straightforward but tiring. The last stream crossing involved a suspect snow bridge 10' above the stream bed, but at that point we didn't care. For the last mile, we were pelted with sleet. We reached the car, thoroughly drenched, at 10:30 PM. Elain stoically endured the drive home, while I slept soundly.
Gear we used: ice axe, crampons, ice tool, 2 pickets, 1 ice screw (19cm), #4 bugaboo, 8.5mm x 50m rope, GPS, map, compass, altimeter
Things we learned:
Mount Shuksan
Elain at our high camp
North Face of Mount Shuksan, from near high camp
North Face of Mount Shuksan, showing the small hanging glacier
Elain at the north Shoulder
Looking down at the North Face and Price Lake, from the North Shoulder
The Hourglass, as seen from the Curtis Glacier
Looking down at Shuksan Arm from the Curtis Glacier