Glacier Peak via The Dakobeds
7/15/09
WA Cascades West Slopes Central
4484
8
For a much better written version of this story check out for exclusive photos not featured in this trip report
Introduction
Glacier Peak is by far the most Isolated volcano within the Cascade chain with the minimal approach taking over 30 miles and Glacier Peak Wilderness is what I consider to have the most stunning scenery as in all of Washington. I had always looked at the Dakobeds (translated to mean Great Parent) in a sense of mystery studying the contour lines of the massive peaks hosting several glaciers lingering on the edge of granite cliffs. Glacier Peak and the Dakobeds were to me as Mt Olympus and the Valhallas was to Jason. From the tiger striped gold tinted rock to the never ending crevasse filled glaciers Glacier Peak is easily one of the most amazing places I have ever set my eyes upon. We decided the perfect way to attack Glacier peak would be via the Dakobeds.
This trip takes place from June 30th until July 5th
Day 1 Welcome to Glacier Peak Wilderness
We made a quick run through of the local Winco stacking up on enough food to support seven days of touring. We stoked up on everything from Crystal Light to Reeses Pieces we wouldnt make the same mistake we had on Mt Olympus. After a long drive across Stevens Pass and on to the eastern crest of the cascades we found ourselves at our starting point the White River trailhead. We leisurely packed our bags being extra careful not to forget anything that could hinder the tour. What originally started as a few pesky mosquitos soon evolved to an all out feeding frenzy with Jason and I being the main course. With our bags loaded with around 100 pounds of food, clothes and shelter we started our journey at the late hour of 8p.m. to knock off a few miles and hopefully deter a few mosquitos along the way. We pushed up the trail under a dusk sky passing lush vegetation and several unmaintained campsites until arriving at our destination for the night, a trail junction to access Boulder Pass. We threw up the tent in a hurry for protection from the ever present mosquitos and enjoyed a plethora of food as we sat by our and a stillness only broken by the overwhelming roar of Boulder Creek. Once arriving at the creek we were surprised to find that the water was raging from the late season snowmelt and that the only possible way to cross was by fording the swift moving creek. We both crossed the water without shoes or socks careful not to slip and fall into the shin deep icy cold water. After quickly drying our feet we were back that would go on for the next three days. Soon enough we found ourselves standing on the first of many glaciers we would cross along the way. The view from the Walrus Glacier was breathtaking with a sea of Ice cascading into a huge serac field dropping huge boulders of Ice thousands of feet down to the floor of the Napeequa valley. We could see a steep roller after steep roller until
Day 3 A Day of Blood and Sweat
We woke up to the early morning sun beating down upon our high alpine platform with the ambitious goal of reaching Ten Peak Mountain by the end of the day. We all 2000 feet of sun softened corn until arriving at the until finally reaching a spot we felt comfortable down climbing. We looked upon the vast Butterfly Glacier noticing a possibly skiable route through the gut that was reached with a 15 minute traverse across the steep upper slopes.
Finally we were once again on a 2000 foot fall line ripping down the perfectly softened corn. and I was becoming exhausted by all of the bootpacking. I cramponed across the east face while Jason effortlessly slid towards our final col of the day. After 30 minutes of kick stepping I reached the pass thirsty and exhausted while Jason sat rested and rehydrated waiting 15 minutes for my arrival. I could tell he was getting somewhat impatient with my speed but we were both in good spirit as we down climbed to Butterfly Lake.
According to the topo we were about to embark on the hardest part of the day. It was a grueling mile and a half traverse across steep slopes smashed between rock headwalls above and enormous cliffs below. We kept pushing forward knowing that once we finished the traverse easier terrain would be abundant and we were within an hour and a half of our potential camping spot. The terrain in front of us was a sample of everything the Dakobeds had to offer, our route was going to be on dirt, rocks, multiple creeks and lush green vegetation with the occasional vain of snow to slow down our progress. Jason attempted to patch ski with multiple carryovers while I stuck to bootpacking keeping close to stable rocks imbedded in the soft soil. Before long we reached a steep snow covered creek that cut 20 foot walls into the rock before ending in a huge waterfall. By now I was frustrated with the
As you well know its all about funding ???
but I would like do something grand maybe in the Tetons ;)
Introduction
Glacier Peak is by far the most Isolated volcano within the Cascade chain with the minimal approach taking over 30 miles and Glacier Peak Wilderness is what I consider to have the most stunning scenery as in all of Washington. I had always looked at the Dakobeds (translated to mean Great Parent) in a sense of mystery studying the contour lines of the massive peaks hosting several glaciers lingering on the edge of granite cliffs. Glacier Peak and the Dakobeds were to me as Mt Olympus and the Valhallas was to Jason. From the tiger striped gold tinted rock to the never ending crevasse filled glaciers Glacier Peak is easily one of the most amazing places I have ever set my eyes upon. We decided the perfect way to attack Glacier peak would be via the Dakobeds.
This trip takes place from June 30th until July 5th
Day 1 Welcome to Glacier Peak Wilderness
We made a quick run through of the local Winco stacking up on enough food to support seven days of touring. We stoked up on everything from Crystal Light to Reeses Pieces we wouldnt make the same mistake we had on Mt Olympus. After a long drive across Stevens Pass and on to the eastern crest of the cascades we found ourselves at our starting point the White River trailhead. We leisurely packed our bags being extra careful not to forget anything that could hinder the tour. What originally started as a few pesky mosquitos soon evolved to an all out feeding frenzy with Jason and I being the main course. With our bags loaded with around 100 pounds of food, clothes and shelter we started our journey at the late hour of 8p.m. to knock off a few miles and hopefully deter a few mosquitos along the way. We pushed up the trail under a dusk sky passing lush vegetation and several unmaintained campsites until arriving at our destination for the night, a trail junction to access Boulder Pass. We threw up the tent in a hurry for protection from the ever present mosquitos and enjoyed a plethora of food as we sat by our and a stillness only broken by the overwhelming roar of Boulder Creek. Once arriving at the creek we were surprised to find that the water was raging from the late season snowmelt and that the only possible way to cross was by fording the swift moving creek. We both crossed the water without shoes or socks careful not to slip and fall into the shin deep icy cold water. After quickly drying our feet we were back that would go on for the next three days. Soon enough we found ourselves standing on the first of many glaciers we would cross along the way. The view from the Walrus Glacier was breathtaking with a sea of Ice cascading into a huge serac field dropping huge boulders of Ice thousands of feet down to the floor of the Napeequa valley. We could see a steep roller after steep roller until
Day 3 A Day of Blood and Sweat
We woke up to the early morning sun beating down upon our high alpine platform with the ambitious goal of reaching Ten Peak Mountain by the end of the day. We all 2000 feet of sun softened corn until arriving at the until finally reaching a spot we felt comfortable down climbing. We looked upon the vast Butterfly Glacier noticing a possibly skiable route through the gut that was reached with a 15 minute traverse across the steep upper slopes.
Finally we were once again on a 2000 foot fall line ripping down the perfectly softened corn. and I was becoming exhausted by all of the bootpacking. I cramponed across the east face while Jason effortlessly slid towards our final col of the day. After 30 minutes of kick stepping I reached the pass thirsty and exhausted while Jason sat rested and rehydrated waiting 15 minutes for my arrival. I could tell he was getting somewhat impatient with my speed but we were both in good spirit as we down climbed to Butterfly Lake.
According to the topo we were about to embark on the hardest part of the day. It was a grueling mile and a half traverse across steep slopes smashed between rock headwalls above and enormous cliffs below. We kept pushing forward knowing that once we finished the traverse easier terrain would be abundant and we were within an hour and a half of our potential camping spot. The terrain in front of us was a sample of everything the Dakobeds had to offer, our route was going to be on dirt, rocks, multiple creeks and lush green vegetation with the occasional vain of snow to slow down our progress. Jason attempted to patch ski with multiple carryovers while I stuck to bootpacking keeping close to stable rocks imbedded in the soft soil. Before long we reached a steep snow covered creek that cut 20 foot walls into the rock before ending in a huge waterfall. By now I was frustrated with the
Day 4 A Hope of a better tomorrow
I was awoken by the noise of Jason getting his gear together; he had woken up early in the morning to watch the sunrise alpenglow over Glacier Peak. The day before we had both showed interest in skiing the massive aesthetic colouir on Ten Peak that hovered above us and he asked if I still wanted to do so. I knew that the conditions were going to be somewhat sketchy on the 55 degree entrance that hadn’t had the time to soften in the morning sun and I also didn’t like seeing a runnel down the gut so I chose instead to rest and let me boots dry while Jason went at it, I felt I had been pushing my luck a little bit too much recently. I watched Jason slowly climb the slope as I made breakfast and kept myself entertained by messing around rock climbing on a 200 foot rock wall next to camp as he slowly disappeared behind the chutes dog leg. After about an hour of climbing I knew he was going to be down soon so I returned to camp and started packing up for the long day ahead in which we intended to make it to the base of Glacier Peak. I watched Jason ski down the slope somewhat jealous but more then that antsy to get moving as he ripped perfect turns all the way back to camp. After a few minutes of talking back and forth about the day’s route I walked over to my snowboard to find that an animal had eaten the rubber off my bindings high back, my poles handle and my duct tape. To say the least I was rather pissed and ready to get out of there.
While rock climbing earlier I had noticed a low col followed by what seemed to be a 30 foot down scramble of loose rock that dropped directly to a moraine lake at the base of the Honeycomb Glacier which was our intended route for the day. I was a little bit ahead of Jason so I climbed to the col first and started down climbing was quickly turned into Glacier polished smooth rock. This wasn’t what I had expected being much more technical as I tossed my poles and carefully down climbed the almost unclimbable route. Once Jason arrived at the col I was able to guide him to a much easier scree slope before we once again met up at the base of the Moraine Lake. In the not so far distance we could see the low angled Honeycomb glacier as we wrapped around the lake crossing snow, mud and streams preparing to final skin and getting some of the weight off of our backs.
We rested at the edge of the lake drinking from what possible could have been our last water source as we transitioned to skinning. I was stoked because I had a good idea of what was in store for us and that meant no more cramponing for the rest of the day. The weather was endless blue sky with the occasional cloud and a nice breeze as we skinned up the mellow Honeycomb glacier. We skinned up the Glacier at a fast pace covering as much terrain as the day before within hours and soon enough we were staring at Glacier Peak and the Suiattle Glacier from a flat bench on the Honeycomb. We took our time rehydrating and eating calories as we discussed potential base camps for the day debating between the Glacier Pass col and the Dry slopes of Disappointment ridge. We chose the latter because of its closeness our objective, the dry ground and potential views for an amazing sunset.
We both chose different routes to get to camp, Jason had decided to stay high and traverse across the Honeycomb and Suiattle to basecamp while I chose to drop down a few hundred feet and skin up to camp. As I started dropping elevation I noticed that the area below me became blocked by a rock band so thinking noting of it I rode down listening to what sounded like a stream. It turned out that the stream was in all actuality a waterfall of a 20 foot cliff band that I was either going to have to down climb or spend 20 minutes climbing up and around. It was smooth rock but it had small ledges that I felt comfortable down climbing, so I tossed my backpack and the board to the snow below and carefully made my way down until arriving back at my gear. With a quick transition I was back to skinning on the mellow slopes of the Suiattle glacier slowly uphill traversing and within an hour I was putting up our tent on the dirt covered ridge of disappointment Peak.
It was still somewhat early in the day so we rested until the warm afternoon sun drying our boots and loading up on calories preparing for the day ahead. All of the traversing and skinning in wet boots had taken its toll on Jason’s feet so he stuck around the tent as I decided to do a sunset jog up disappointment ridge, stopping at a towering rock to mess around and sharpen my climbing skills. From my vantage point of around 8500 feet I was looking out among the vast landscape of the Central Cascades and all its prominent landmarks. As the sky started to brighten from the sunset over the horizon I jogged back to camp and cooked some food as the Suiattle Glacier was a vibrant red from the Alpenglow. Our route for the next day was still somewhat up in the air between a few different options so we discussed the possible route and decided it would be based on the conditions that we would observe the next day. That night we went to bed stoked that we had made it according to plan and there was a good chance that we would nail our main objective the next day Glacier Peak.
Day 5 The payoff for all this torture
We hadn’t seen another person for 4 days so I was surprised when I heard some people hiking out side of our tent. I jumped out of the tent to see two people heading up the ridge around 7 a.m. as I started getting my gear ready for the long day. We didn’t have access to running water so we decided to take the time consuming task of melting down some water before leaving. We started off the day in running shoes hiking up the dusty ridge of Disappointment peak before transferring onto the Suiattle Glacier. Sense we didn’t have much water we traversed towards a prominent rock until arriving to a creek cascading of the rock walls. We forced down as much water as possible before I switched to skinning, Jason decided he felt comfortable climbing the low angle glacier in running shoes until we took a resting break on the Cool Glacier at the base of Glacier Peak Proper.
My big thing was that I didn’t want to climb or ski any route that I had done the year prior so we decided to head directly up the headwall of the Glacier instead of taking the standard dog route. We both switched over to cramponing in our ski and snowboard boots and started heading towards the steep face traversing around some deep crevasses along the way. Once arriving at the headwall we took out our Ice axes and started kick steeping up the face with Jason leading the way. After 45 minutes of kick stepping straight up we found ourselves up on a high ridge that separated the Chocolate and Cool Glaciers and were stoked to find that we were able to climb the ridge all the way to summit proper. The ridge was exposed on both sides with a minimum of a 1000 foot drop as the ridge connected with the Chocolate Glacier headwall. The headwall had some massive shrunds on it that looked like they crossed the entire face but luckily they were small where we had to cross and after a few quick hops we were standing on summit proper.
Out of every volcano I have ever been on top of Glacier Peak by far has the most outstanding view. From panoramics of Glacier carved massive peaks to a view of all the Volcanoes in Washington it has it all. We slowly put our downhill gear together and discussed all of the different possibilities that were in front of us. We had originally planned on skiing the Chocolate Glacier but decided against navigating through the maze of crevasses only to have to skin back up for the more sustained Cool Glacier Headwall. We had seen the Cool Glacier Headwall earlier in the day and knew all to well that it was going to be steep with a mandatory shrund hop at the bottom but we both felt comfortable with it and wanted to take advantage of the most direct line back to base camp.
Jason scouted the line first taking a few turns before giving me the green light to drop in. The snow had softened quite dramatically in the early afternoon sun so we took extra caution not to cause any wet slides on each other. We carefully turned down the steep 55 degree face with an exposed cliff band right below us. I chose to keep my Ice axe in hand for self arrest if in any event I slipped out giving me only a few seconds to stop. We carefully made turns down the face until the slope mellowed out and we felt more comfortable ripping down. Once we finally arrived onto the Cool Glacier our blood was pumping and we were stoked looking up at the 1500 foot sustained 55 degree slope with our tracks. We decided to take advantage of good fall line skiing instead of the long traverse of the dog leg route back to our base camp so we climbed a additional 500 feet to the summit of Disappointment peak. The face was steep but nothing compared to what we had just gone down so we opened up with perfect arc turns down to the base of the peak and rode the low angled glacier back to camp.
By the time we arrived back to camp the whole area was swarming with activity. We spotted 3 separate groups of climbers who were all attempting to summit the next day (nice to meet you Kath) and after giving out as much beta as we could we packed our bags up and started heading towards the White Chuck Glacier which would spare us a few miles of hiking the next day. We skinned across the flats of the remaining Glacier until arriving upon a spot I had camped at the year prior and decided this was going to be base camp for the night. It had an amazing panoramic view, dry ground and running water which were all the qualifications I needed. It happened to be the forth of July and I joked around with Jason saying that we celebrated our independence in style as we watched the sunset over Mt Baker and the mountains around Darrington preparing for the long hike ahead of us.
Day 6 Its all down hill from here
We slept in till around 9 a.m. until the heat was too much to stay asleep. We knew that we were going to hike out to White Pass but it was still up in the air whether we would leave via the White River trail or Indian Creek. On our way in we had spoke with a trail maintenance guy who said they were clearing out the Indian creek trail so we decided that would be the most efficient way. We packed up our gear and skied the flat slopes of the white chuck until arriving at the 500 foot slope between us and a low col to the White Pass area. We climbed up the well beaten in path without the use of crampons until we were standing at the high ridge looking down at the Pass. After down climbing a few hundred feet on dirt and grass we were on the snow free trail traversing out to the PCT. The wildflowers were in full bloom with vibrant whites and yellows and a dark green backdrop so after arriving at White Pass I was easily persuaded to take a few turns on a patch of snow next to the flowers. We rested for awhile and talked to another hiker about trail conditions who confirmed our beliefs that the Indian Creek trail would be far more efficient so after a quick break we switched to running shoes and were back on the PCT.
The trail still had a lot of snow cover around the Pass but it slowly dwindled as we lost elevation. By the time we reached Indian Pass the trail was completely snow free which made for easy travel other then the occasional mud pit we would have to cross. As we hiked down the valley the vegetation changed dramatically from huge trees to dense vegetation with the occasional avy path it had it all. The miles went by fast as we kept a consistent pace knowing that we had around 10 miles until we arrived at the car. The lower in elevation we got the worse the mosquito’s slowly becoming a huge mass swarming over our heads. Things went smoothly until my foot became submerged in a creek after slipping on a rock and was left with my right foot soaking wet. After that I was motivated to get back to the car as fast at possible not wanting to put on other wet socks or my snowboard boots. What I thought was the final 2 miles turned out to be 5 miles as the trail kept going and going until arriving at the car as the sun was setting. We had planned on camping one final night but a mixture of the mosquito’s and what we were told to be bad weather the next day had us deciding to throw our gear in the car and head home.
In Conclusion
The tour was by far the most brutal tour I have ever taken but it truly is an amazing place to head to at least one time in your life. With well over 60 miles of trees, alpine, Glacier and rock traveling it was truly a mixture of everything. I have climbed a lot of Volcanoes but this one was my favorite and in my personal opinion it is by far has the best scenery in the Cascades. I hope you have enjoyed my journeys from the season and I look forward to putting out even wilder stuff next year.
If you have any questions or are looking for some beta feel free to contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
I was awoken by the noise of Jason getting his gear together; he had woken up early in the morning to watch the sunrise alpenglow over Glacier Peak. The day before we had both showed interest in skiing the massive aesthetic colouir on Ten Peak that hovered above us and he asked if I still wanted to do so. I knew that the conditions were going to be somewhat sketchy on the 55 degree entrance that hadn’t had the time to soften in the morning sun and I also didn’t like seeing a runnel down the gut so I chose instead to rest and let me boots dry while Jason went at it, I felt I had been pushing my luck a little bit too much recently. I watched Jason slowly climb the slope as I made breakfast and kept myself entertained by messing around rock climbing on a 200 foot rock wall next to camp as he slowly disappeared behind the chutes dog leg. After about an hour of climbing I knew he was going to be down soon so I returned to camp and started packing up for the long day ahead in which we intended to make it to the base of Glacier Peak. I watched Jason ski down the slope somewhat jealous but more then that antsy to get moving as he ripped perfect turns all the way back to camp. After a few minutes of talking back and forth about the day’s route I walked over to my snowboard to find that an animal had eaten the rubber off my bindings high back, my poles handle and my duct tape. To say the least I was rather pissed and ready to get out of there.
While rock climbing earlier I had noticed a low col followed by what seemed to be a 30 foot down scramble of loose rock that dropped directly to a moraine lake at the base of the Honeycomb Glacier which was our intended route for the day. I was a little bit ahead of Jason so I climbed to the col first and started down climbing was quickly turned into Glacier polished smooth rock. This wasn’t what I had expected being much more technical as I tossed my poles and carefully down climbed the almost unclimbable route. Once Jason arrived at the col I was able to guide him to a much easier scree slope before we once again met up at the base of the Moraine Lake. In the not so far distance we could see the low angled Honeycomb glacier as we wrapped around the lake crossing snow, mud and streams preparing to final skin and getting some of the weight off of our backs.
We rested at the edge of the lake drinking from what possible could have been our last water source as we transitioned to skinning. I was stoked because I had a good idea of what was in store for us and that meant no more cramponing for the rest of the day. The weather was endless blue sky with the occasional cloud and a nice breeze as we skinned up the mellow Honeycomb glacier. We skinned up the Glacier at a fast pace covering as much terrain as the day before within hours and soon enough we were staring at Glacier Peak and the Suiattle Glacier from a flat bench on the Honeycomb. We took our time rehydrating and eating calories as we discussed potential base camps for the day debating between the Glacier Pass col and the Dry slopes of Disappointment ridge. We chose the latter because of its closeness our objective, the dry ground and potential views for an amazing sunset.
We both chose different routes to get to camp, Jason had decided to stay high and traverse across the Honeycomb and Suiattle to basecamp while I chose to drop down a few hundred feet and skin up to camp. As I started dropping elevation I noticed that the area below me became blocked by a rock band so thinking noting of it I rode down listening to what sounded like a stream. It turned out that the stream was in all actuality a waterfall of a 20 foot cliff band that I was either going to have to down climb or spend 20 minutes climbing up and around. It was smooth rock but it had small ledges that I felt comfortable down climbing, so I tossed my backpack and the board to the snow below and carefully made my way down until arriving back at my gear. With a quick transition I was back to skinning on the mellow slopes of the Suiattle glacier slowly uphill traversing and within an hour I was putting up our tent on the dirt covered ridge of disappointment Peak.
It was still somewhat early in the day so we rested until the warm afternoon sun drying our boots and loading up on calories preparing for the day ahead. All of the traversing and skinning in wet boots had taken its toll on Jason’s feet so he stuck around the tent as I decided to do a sunset jog up disappointment ridge, stopping at a towering rock to mess around and sharpen my climbing skills. From my vantage point of around 8500 feet I was looking out among the vast landscape of the Central Cascades and all its prominent landmarks. As the sky started to brighten from the sunset over the horizon I jogged back to camp and cooked some food as the Suiattle Glacier was a vibrant red from the Alpenglow. Our route for the next day was still somewhat up in the air between a few different options so we discussed the possible route and decided it would be based on the conditions that we would observe the next day. That night we went to bed stoked that we had made it according to plan and there was a good chance that we would nail our main objective the next day Glacier Peak.
Day 5 The payoff for all this torture
We hadn’t seen another person for 4 days so I was surprised when I heard some people hiking out side of our tent. I jumped out of the tent to see two people heading up the ridge around 7 a.m. as I started getting my gear ready for the long day. We didn’t have access to running water so we decided to take the time consuming task of melting down some water before leaving. We started off the day in running shoes hiking up the dusty ridge of Disappointment peak before transferring onto the Suiattle Glacier. Sense we didn’t have much water we traversed towards a prominent rock until arriving to a creek cascading of the rock walls. We forced down as much water as possible before I switched to skinning, Jason decided he felt comfortable climbing the low angle glacier in running shoes until we took a resting break on the Cool Glacier at the base of Glacier Peak Proper.
My big thing was that I didn’t want to climb or ski any route that I had done the year prior so we decided to head directly up the headwall of the Glacier instead of taking the standard dog route. We both switched over to cramponing in our ski and snowboard boots and started heading towards the steep face traversing around some deep crevasses along the way. Once arriving at the headwall we took out our Ice axes and started kick steeping up the face with Jason leading the way. After 45 minutes of kick stepping straight up we found ourselves up on a high ridge that separated the Chocolate and Cool Glaciers and were stoked to find that we were able to climb the ridge all the way to summit proper. The ridge was exposed on both sides with a minimum of a 1000 foot drop as the ridge connected with the Chocolate Glacier headwall. The headwall had some massive shrunds on it that looked like they crossed the entire face but luckily they were small where we had to cross and after a few quick hops we were standing on summit proper.
Out of every volcano I have ever been on top of Glacier Peak by far has the most outstanding view. From panoramics of Glacier carved massive peaks to a view of all the Volcanoes in Washington it has it all. We slowly put our downhill gear together and discussed all of the different possibilities that were in front of us. We had originally planned on skiing the Chocolate Glacier but decided against navigating through the maze of crevasses only to have to skin back up for the more sustained Cool Glacier Headwall. We had seen the Cool Glacier Headwall earlier in the day and knew all to well that it was going to be steep with a mandatory shrund hop at the bottom but we both felt comfortable with it and wanted to take advantage of the most direct line back to base camp.
Jason scouted the line first taking a few turns before giving me the green light to drop in. The snow had softened quite dramatically in the early afternoon sun so we took extra caution not to cause any wet slides on each other. We carefully turned down the steep 55 degree face with an exposed cliff band right below us. I chose to keep my Ice axe in hand for self arrest if in any event I slipped out giving me only a few seconds to stop. We carefully made turns down the face until the slope mellowed out and we felt more comfortable ripping down. Once we finally arrived onto the Cool Glacier our blood was pumping and we were stoked looking up at the 1500 foot sustained 55 degree slope with our tracks. We decided to take advantage of good fall line skiing instead of the long traverse of the dog leg route back to our base camp so we climbed a additional 500 feet to the summit of Disappointment peak. The face was steep but nothing compared to what we had just gone down so we opened up with perfect arc turns down to the base of the peak and rode the low angled glacier back to camp.
By the time we arrived back to camp the whole area was swarming with activity. We spotted 3 separate groups of climbers who were all attempting to summit the next day (nice to meet you Kath) and after giving out as much beta as we could we packed our bags up and started heading towards the White Chuck Glacier which would spare us a few miles of hiking the next day. We skinned across the flats of the remaining Glacier until arriving upon a spot I had camped at the year prior and decided this was going to be base camp for the night. It had an amazing panoramic view, dry ground and running water which were all the qualifications I needed. It happened to be the forth of July and I joked around with Jason saying that we celebrated our independence in style as we watched the sunset over Mt Baker and the mountains around Darrington preparing for the long hike ahead of us.
Day 6 Its all down hill from here
We slept in till around 9 a.m. until the heat was too much to stay asleep. We knew that we were going to hike out to White Pass but it was still up in the air whether we would leave via the White River trail or Indian Creek. On our way in we had spoke with a trail maintenance guy who said they were clearing out the Indian creek trail so we decided that would be the most efficient way. We packed up our gear and skied the flat slopes of the white chuck until arriving at the 500 foot slope between us and a low col to the White Pass area. We climbed up the well beaten in path without the use of crampons until we were standing at the high ridge looking down at the Pass. After down climbing a few hundred feet on dirt and grass we were on the snow free trail traversing out to the PCT. The wildflowers were in full bloom with vibrant whites and yellows and a dark green backdrop so after arriving at White Pass I was easily persuaded to take a few turns on a patch of snow next to the flowers. We rested for awhile and talked to another hiker about trail conditions who confirmed our beliefs that the Indian Creek trail would be far more efficient so after a quick break we switched to running shoes and were back on the PCT.
The trail still had a lot of snow cover around the Pass but it slowly dwindled as we lost elevation. By the time we reached Indian Pass the trail was completely snow free which made for easy travel other then the occasional mud pit we would have to cross. As we hiked down the valley the vegetation changed dramatically from huge trees to dense vegetation with the occasional avy path it had it all. The miles went by fast as we kept a consistent pace knowing that we had around 10 miles until we arrived at the car. The lower in elevation we got the worse the mosquito’s slowly becoming a huge mass swarming over our heads. Things went smoothly until my foot became submerged in a creek after slipping on a rock and was left with my right foot soaking wet. After that I was motivated to get back to the car as fast at possible not wanting to put on other wet socks or my snowboard boots. What I thought was the final 2 miles turned out to be 5 miles as the trail kept going and going until arriving at the car as the sun was setting. We had planned on camping one final night but a mixture of the mosquito’s and what we were told to be bad weather the next day had us deciding to throw our gear in the car and head home.
In Conclusion
The tour was by far the most brutal tour I have ever taken but it truly is an amazing place to head to at least one time in your life. With well over 60 miles of trees, alpine, Glacier and rock traveling it was truly a mixture of everything. I have climbed a lot of Volcanoes but this one was my favorite and in my personal opinion it is by far has the best scenery in the Cascades. I hope you have enjoyed my journeys from the season and I look forward to putting out even wilder stuff next year.
If you have any questions or are looking for some beta feel free to contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Killer TR Kyle, nice work! sounds like a helluva suffferfest.
"even wilder stuff next year". Holy cow what are you planning Kyle as you and Jason have done some amazing stuff this year?
Congratulations to you both. Great read and pictures.
Almost makes me what to take my skis for a hike.
Congratulations to you both. Great read and pictures.
Almost makes me what to take my skis for a hike.
author=Scotsman link=topic=13885.msg58044#msg58044 date=1248659707]
"even wilder stuff next year". Holy cow what are you planning Kyle as you and Jason have done some amazing stuff this year?
As you well know its all about funding ???
but I would like do something grand maybe in the Tetons ;)
Nice work Kyle -- I'll be picking your brain next spring for this one :)
Why do I even attempt to write up my little day trips? Kyle and Jason, you guys are really amazing. Thanks for sharing with the old wannabees on this website. Just so you know, this was a three beer armchair ski mountaineering trip for me, and I enjoyed every picture, every phrase (especially " a stillness only broken by the overwhelming roar of Boulder Creek."), and every cold sip of it. If I had more brews in the fridge, I'd read it again! An inspiration. I hope wilder stuff doesn't mean more dangerous... you don't have to impress us...although we are impressionable. Thank you.
The Glacier Peak is a special area. I've enjoyed these photos & trip report along with the recent one from the Olympics. There's just a real "soul" your trips instead of the agro CascadeClimbers TRs.
Certainly not a bad photo in the bunch but the photo of turns with the lillies @ White Pass is tops. Just awesome!..
Certainly not a bad photo in the bunch but the photo of turns with the lillies @ White Pass is tops. Just awesome!..
I LOVE IT .. I LOVE IT .. I LOVE IT!! thx for the awesome revisit kyle .. fm our glacier peak trip and jason's most excellent earlier tr .. you guys are totally amazing .. but a little sick!!! ;)
btw the mysterious dakobeds have been on my radar ever since ...
btw the mysterious dakobeds have been on my radar ever since ...
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