Trip: Mount Buckner - Southwest Route
Date: 10/14/2007
Trip Report:My friend Kevin and I did a loop around Cascade Pass on Sunday, climbing Buckner on the way. We were trying to sneak a climb before the weather hit. The first bit of fun was finding the Cascade River Road gated at mile 20 (Eldorado trailhead), which added an unexpected 3 Free Bonus Miles on either end of the trip. There are two washouts half a mile up the road with foot bridges over both. This section washed out last winter, then was fixed in July, then washed out in the exact same spot already this fall. Anyway, we left the car @ 5:30am and were at Cascade Pass a bit after sunrise to catch this view of Eldorado.
The trail was snowy on the traverse across the boulder field just below Cascade Pass and was solid above it. The fall colors were beautiful as we dropped in to Pelton Basin (the Triplets peaking above the ridge behind).
Saw these deer making out in the forest near the ranger camp, just before we dropped 1800' to catch the junction to Horseshoe Basin.
More fall colors on the traverse underneath the Doubtful Lake basin; the morning sun was making everything all glowy and purty.
We hiked up to the Black Warrior Mine and spent half an hour exploring it. (Anybody here gone all the way back into the depths?)
I don't know if anybody knows where the supposed climber's trail is that leads from the lower to the upper Horseshoe Basin, but I am 0 for 2 in locating it. We climbed around waterfalls, brush, and small trees to eventually gain the upper basin. Last October when I was here this entire area was a big scree pile. We were happy to have snow underfoot, but it turned out to be an ordeal as it was unconsolidated. We spent the next several hours routinely postholing, often crotch-deep, up, down, and then across the mountain. Here Kev is resting below the peaks of Ripsaw Ridge.
Higher up the snow got deeper and post-holier; Buckner's summit is the high point directly above Kev's head.
A view south toward the peaks of the Ptarmigan Traverse, with a weird god-light breaking the clouds...
Fresh snow on Sahale
Kev changing his shirt 50 feet below the summit with Mount Booker in the background
Almost on top...the soft snow was interesting on the loose third-class summit rocks. We got a good look down the north face which looked like an amazing ski except for the Sarlacc Pit bergschrund yawning at the base.
Kev on top, with Johannesburg, Sahale, and Boston in the background
Glacier Peak, with Old Guard and Sentinel in foreground
Forbidden, Eldorado, Baker
Buckner's NE summit, Dipshit
As it was already 3:30pm we stayed on top for only 15 minutes before heading down. We wanted to do a loop so we traversed underneath Ripsaw Ridge, then across the slabs below the Davenport Glacier to the base of the rock rib leading up to the Sahale Glacier. This miserable affair took two hours, one hour of which was spent just traversing the slabs (this took me 15 minutes in no-snow conditions last October). Here Kev is lifting up his boots to let the water pour out before the slab traverse.
A short, steep climb in a narrow gully led us to the the notch whereby we would gain the rib leading up toward Sahale. This photo was taken from the notch, and it shows our ascent and descent/traverse route.
This one, taken earlier in the day, shows the traverse across the slabs under the Davenport, then up the gully (steep); the dots are where we walked on top of the rib; the X is where one leaves the rock rib to diagonal up to the Sahale camp; the arrow shows approx. where the angle lessens and the camp is obvious.
We had dropped back down to 6400' to the base of the rib, and we now had to climb another 1100' to the glacier campsites of Sahale. There is one tricky section on the rock rib, and that is getting on top of it from the the notch. Once this was accomplished we had a nice scramble on solid ground for a change, then up more soft snow to the moraine camp below Sahale, where this final photo was taken.
We more or less followed a skin track down the talus/snow field to the Sahale Arm (where the trail is about 70 percent snow-covered), lost our way in the snow a couple of times, slopped down to Cascade Pass, trudged down the annoying switchbacks to the trailhead, then jogged in squishy boots much of the way down the road to make it to the car by 11pm.
numbers:
9800' elevation gain (3200' car to Cascade Pass; 5500' Horseshoe Basin jct. to summit; 1100' slabs to Sahale camp)
20+ miles
17.5 hours (no off-the-hook speed ascent here!)
3 French Hens
2 Turtle Doves
1 Partridge in Pear Tree
Gear Notes:pants (we wore them)
Approach Notes:Cascade River Road is gated at mile 20 (Eldorado trailhead); two foot bridges in place; snow continuous above 5400'
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