Home > Trip Reports > August 26, 2011, Glacier Peak south shoulder

August 26, 2011, Glacier Peak south shoulder

8/26/11
WA Cascades West Slopes Central
4029
7
Posted by mikerolfs on 8/26/11 2:21pm
It's a long walk to Glacier Peak.  Of course the skiing is worth the walk.  I left the White River Falls TH at 7:45am on Thursday and made it to glacier gap by 5pm.  It was further than I thought.  I had planned to summit and ski on day one, but I ran out of time.  It would be better skiing to do it that way though.  The corn was nice on the approach ski and would have been great from the summit.  Instead, I climbed and skied the next morning.  The snow at 10am was fair/firm in shadows and almost good in direct sun.  I didn't see a single person on the Indian Creek trail either direction.  No one else on the mountain.  On the PCT I met two through hikers and three youngsters from Seattle.  They walked the extra 7 miles due to the road closure on the West side.  They reported seeing no obstacle that would prevent a car from passing (other than a ranger on a tractor who could move out of the way).  I made it back to the trail head before dark.  It would be a nicer trip to take a third day.  That way you could spend a whole day skiing instead of just a quick up and down the mountain.
You are a traveling mochien nice trip.

Nice report, and sounds like excellent lonely skiing! Likely made even better by canned, smoked seafood. One of my favorite mountain treats.

Great TR Tex!  am thinking of heading up there this weekend and have been debating carrying skis - what elevation did you hit snow?  any crevasses or other hazards encountered?  Thanks!

Dry sneaker trail walking to about 6500'.  Once you cross north of the White Mtn. ridge, east of the PCT at White Pass, you can put on your skis.  I slept on dry pumice at Glacier gap and half the ascent was on pumice, half on snow.  I had no crevasse difficulties at all.  Definitely bring your skis!  Take an extra day though.  After such a long approach, it makes sense to get in some runs.  From Glacier Gap you can ski north facing slopes (just to the south), West facing slopes to to the west, and the south facing slopes of the mountain proper. 

Impressive. I love seeing close photos of glacier peak since they are relatively rare here. I've been close to glacier back in the day. Now it seems and sounds like it may be out of reach for a 9-5 weekend warrior like me. So thanks for sharing your adventure and photos.

So... when you refer to the "White River Falls TH" were you able to go up rd #23 or did you start right from the Mountain Loop Hwy?  Sorrry; just a bit confused!

P.S. that's an awesome effort.  Congrats!

author=NMaddox link=topic=21695.msg92984#msg92984 date=1314806916]
So... when you refer to the "White River Falls TH"


Confusing because it's from the other side of the mountains, just north of Lake Wenatchee.  Here's the PCT washout map from the trailhead with my route marked in green.  By the way, the through-hikers I met told me they ignored the detour and followed the PCT around the W side of Glacier peak.  They said the creek crossings were a challenge, but no other reason to take the detour.

Reply to this TR

9026
august-26-2011-glacier-peak-south-shoulder
mikerolfs
2011-08-26 21:21:56