May 19, 2011, West Variation Hanging Gl, Shucksan
5/19/11
5730
4
Two weeks ago I was up for the first time (shocking I know) skiing Shucksan, headed for an excellent ski of the NW couloir with Dylan Johnson. We bumped into Dan H and Drew T at the top of their line (see http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=20809.0)- I remember looking down and money signs started rolling all over my mind like a fruit machine on a winning streak. What a beautiful line! On Friday Brendan O'Sullivan and I skied the skiers left (west) variation of Dan and Drew's line (thanks boys for the inspiration) down to the col by the hanging glacier, after which we exited skiers left. While the snow at the very top was semi-decent, after dropping the top gully in the face proper it hadn't really softened at all, which led to a pretty technical but still amazing descent.
The exit couloir was in pretty good condition- I had a good look at it on the way up, and preferred it over the avie debris covered, serac-a-russian-roulette alternative. The rest of the ski down was wet, and the final skin up was naaasty at the bottom, but thanks to Nicolai and the other TAYer (the only other two people we met all day) for the bootpack further up.
All in all a great descent on a beautiful mountain.
Our route
Brendan in the very top section- from here we dropped left through the gully into the face proper
Steep, not deep
A nice place
The exit couloir was in pretty good condition- I had a good look at it on the way up, and preferred it over the avie debris covered, serac-a-russian-roulette alternative. The rest of the ski down was wet, and the final skin up was naaasty at the bottom, but thanks to Nicolai and the other TAYer (the only other two people we met all day) for the bootpack further up.
All in all a great descent on a beautiful mountain.
Our route
Brendan in the very top section- from here we dropped left through the gully into the face proper
Steep, not deep
A nice place
Nice route. The third photo "Steep,not Deep" started my calf's tingling and stomach churning. ;)
nice line/variation Eduardo! been wanting to get back up on Shuksan, been too long...perhaps the Hanging Gl route will stay in shape a bit longer...
Fantastic job, Eduardo. We were a bit worried about you guys because we couldn't see you from the clearcut (we had to turn back earlier) but we could hear a lot of avy activity in that area--and we had already seen a big serac avy at 7:30am at the farther side of the Hanging Gl. Smart choice to opt for that narrower couloir. Niko
Bravo fellas!
Nice intro to shuksan Eduardo, eh?
Nice intro to shuksan Eduardo, eh?
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