September 10, 2006, Sulphide Glacier, Mt. Shuksan
9/10/06
WA Cascades West Slopes North (Mt Baker)
2929
1
Four of us left Marysville at 6:30 am for a beautiful day in the North Cascades. We were hiking by 8:30 and were happy to find the forest service had worked on the trail, so the first miles on the road are clear of brush. It still gets thicker (but passable without a problem) when it narrows and switch-backs. The glacier was icy in a couple places, so we had to work our way up carefully (without crampons or axes). There are a couple of crevasse fields that require care, and a few big uns that you have to end run. The summit pyramid is bone dry, providing fun scrambling on good solid rock.
It was my first time up this way, and I won't do it again for the skiing (the scenery is the draw) which is low angle traversing for the most part. The snow wasn't too bad if you picked your line, we even managed to scape our way down the icy spots which had a bit of slush by late afternoon. The light was beautiful, and the blue-berries plentiful on the hike out, so it was relatively pleasant, even though we were pretty beat by the time we hit the car at 7:30.
Photos: Scramble to the summit, Jameson skis below the summit pyramid, cutting across the glacier with Baker Lake below.
It was my first time up this way, and I won't do it again for the skiing (the scenery is the draw) which is low angle traversing for the most part. The snow wasn't too bad if you picked your line, we even managed to scape our way down the icy spots which had a bit of slush by late afternoon. The light was beautiful, and the blue-berries plentiful on the hike out, so it was relatively pleasant, even though we were pretty beat by the time we hit the car at 7:30.
Photos: Scramble to the summit, Jameson skis below the summit pyramid, cutting across the glacier with Baker Lake below.
Hey,
Saw you guys up there. Pretty nice run for some September vf! Runnels were a bit annoying, but the ice patches made it a true backcountry challenge. The crevasses are getting a little hairy up there. My climbing buddy punched through twice on the way down following everyone else's boot paths. Beautiful scenery though. We camped up there on Saturday in the rain which was less pleasant, but which afforded us a few lessons in soaked clothes management. Sunday was beautiful. Good job hoofing the whole thing in a day!
-Pete
Saw you guys up there. Pretty nice run for some September vf! Runnels were a bit annoying, but the ice patches made it a true backcountry challenge. The crevasses are getting a little hairy up there. My climbing buddy punched through twice on the way down following everyone else's boot paths. Beautiful scenery though. We camped up there on Saturday in the rain which was less pleasant, but which afforded us a few lessons in soaked clothes management. Sunday was beautiful. Good job hoofing the whole thing in a day!
-Pete
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