OlegV Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Trip: Mt Shuksan - Hanging Glacier via the NW Rib and the NW arête Date: 8/11/2012 Trip Report: The route at glance for hard men and hard women: 1)Downclimbing the White Salmon Glacier to the entrance of the Rotten Gully on the lower NW Rib. The gully is a piece of lose skunk. 2)Following the arête on the good and easy rock (class 4-5). 3)Traversing left the unprotectable and exposed slab (similar to the “Improbable Traverse”) to the base of the very narrow chimney (one pitch, 5.7-5.8); terrible anchor options. 4)Exiting the chimney via the light grey ramp on the left to the toe of the Hanging Glacier. 5)Crossing the middle Hanging Glacier and traversing left to the ice flake on the left side of the Hanging Glacier (close to the NW arête). 6)Climbing up the base of the NW arête to the entrance (5.7-5.8, 70 degree ice) to the upper Hanging Glacier. 7)Climbing the upper Hanging Glacier to the Crystal Glacier below the summit pyramid. Climbing lyrics for gentle souls: We were driven by our collective addiction to being a second away from eternity and by a strong believe in our own invincibility. We followed a powerful irrational force that makes you continue upward and be a part of the mountain flow. Honestly, I am not sure why I ignored to check the Hanging Glacier route description in the Becky’s book that clearly states: “…hard to protect class 5 climbing”. We paid the price... Our trisome-style climbing team consisted of the two distinguished female alpinists, Nastia (Yocum Ridge) and Anita (Ace), and me (as a male): We agreed that girls will lead steep ice and I will lead rock. Naïvely assuming that the route can be done in a day, we left our cozy nest at 4 o’clock Saturday morning carrying only extra clothes but no bivy gear. Luckily, Anita brought a large black garbage bag that, as time showed, will serve us well next night we will spend on the mountain. Part 1: The White Salmon Glacier -> the NW Rib –> the lower Hanging Glacier. Nastia leads us 1000 ft down through the crevasses (45 degree) of the White Salmon Glacier and finds a rotten-looking gully at the lower section of the NW Rib. We naively anticipate an easy scramble to the toe of Hanging Glacier. The ramp is clearly visible at the lower section of the NW Rib: I lead (class 3-4) avoiding a scary-looking chock stone stuck in the middle of the gully throat. The gully leads to a nice mossy platform just below easy-looking slabs. I continue up (class 4) relaxing in the sun and whistling romantic songs. Slabs end. For some unknown reason, I continue to climb upwards aiming at the central tower (has a large crack in the middle of it) that dominates the arête. Class 4 turns into 5.too-much and becomes impassible for my mountaineering boots. I am ready to take my boots off and climb barefoot, when I realize that the route must go left off the tower. I down-climb 30 ft to the ledge, hoping that it should lead to an easy ground. Not really: I start traversing left discovering that the terrain becomes more interesting: no pro and the narrow 2’’ ledge. Finally I hit the deadened facing the entrance to a very narrow off-width chimney (30 ft). I place a psychological belay and bring the girls up. Apparently, they are not looking too happy to see me. Anita remarks that our tinny ledge made of dirt and sand is about to go off leaving us hanging on a single piece. Spicy! My only desire is to squeeze my body into the narrow slot and find some pro. Our life gets a little brighter when I discover a baseball-size chockstone stuck at the base of the chimney – the sling raped around serves well reducing our heart rate and returning us to the state of moderate optimism. I climb up the chimney without the pack toying with the idea that this section reminds me the Smith Rock. On the way out of the chimney, I trigger some rocks that hit Anita’s head and the pack. She survives - thank you REI and mountain research. I bring up both girls to the base of the grey ramp (Nastia is correct it is an exit) and finally begin breathing. I lower Anita to retrieve my pack. The grey ramp leads to a nice bench connecting the NW Rib and the glacier. It appears that we are at the spot where the NW Rib and the NW Arayette meet the Hanging Glacier. View from the top of the grey ramp - down the NW Rib: Part 2: The lower Hanging Glacier -> the NW arête. We are facing a steep entrance onto the Hanging glacier. It looks fun and surrealistic. Nastia, the brave heart leads through the series of crevasses and ice benches to the spot where we can actually see the ground ahead of us: gaping voids of gigantic wall-to-wall crevasse cutting the entire glacier like wrinkles. We can’t pass the glacier. Our collective desire to survive drives us to look for a weak spot on the left flanks – the place where the glacier touches the base of the NW arête. Nastia spots what appears to be a flake of ice connecting the glacier and the NW arête. We pass it with some fear. Ice shit falls from above released almost in a quantum manner. Information for tourists: the lower section of the NW arête is currently a water fall that leads to a 20 feet-wide hole – the entrance to the under-glacier river. I climb around using rock to protect potential plunge through the thin snow. We follow the NW arête to the point when it turns into the class 3-4 loose gully. Anita climbing the NW ariete: We can see the toe of the upper Hanging glacier. It is getting dark and we decide to bivy in the garbage bag. Because the angle of the slope is too steep for sleeping horizontally, we have to dig a flat platform in dirt and rock using our ice tools and hands. We use the rope and packs to soften the bottom of the nest and the garbage bag serves us as a blanket. We settle in and prepare ourselves for misery. It comes in different shapes: A) Skunk smell was very strong – I think it was coming from an army of weed-smoking dead climbers (we also heard voices), or were sleeping on the top of a skunk city. B) Our bodies barely fit the ledge, and went numb very quickly. I suggested changing orientation and sleep sitting (as mainland older people often do in their in-front-of TV chairs). I think Anita remained in the same position for the rest of the night, visiting new places she has never been before. C) Cold gets and simplifies you. You stop caring about strange ritual things invented by Homo sapience in the last 5 thousand years. Nastia puts my gaiters over her head, I am wearing my second socks as mittens, Anita seems paralyzed, but fortunately I hear her body’s rhythmic shivers. Time passes… Nastia in the bivy: Part 3: The NW arête -> the upper Hanging Glacier -> the Crystal Glacier. We are still strong and motivated, although our bodies shake from a sleepless night. The next objective is to get out of the slot via rock and ice. I lead the rock pitch that tkes us out of the canyon. I find an old sling that looked like a bailout piece. This place is strange and the rock is shuttered and unstable. Thank you to Anita for pointing at the short traverse (maybe a 5.8 move or two) that leads to the right and up to the rock platform just beneath the glacier. The girls take over and lead a stellar alpine ice that leads to the top of the Hanging glacier. Their moves have no mistakes and the route finding seems easy. Nastia leading the first pitch leading to the upper Hanging glacier: Anita following a steep ramp: Getting ready for the top section of the upper Hanging glacier: My memory fades away as we enter a featureless desert of the upper mountain. It is a different story, my dear reader… Beneath the summit: Gear Notes: garbage bag, small alpine rack, 2 pockets, 5 screws Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaskadskyjKozak Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 A most enjoyable trip... to read about from the comforts of the couch. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeh Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Wow! I didn't know it was even climbable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YocumRidge Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Thanks for the great TR, Oleg. The trip was certainly an ass kicker and one of the most memorable this year! A few comments. This was Oleg's first time on Shuksan; and Oleg's and Anita's first time via Fisher Chimneys approach. The guys were enjoying some stretchy variations in FC (while I was pathetically lagging behind with a hangover from the night before): Sunset views from our Winnie Slide bivy @6700': The start of our route as seen from White Salmon gl. and up the NW rib (NW Arayette is just behind it) Oleg traversing over to the rotten gully of the NW rib from the moat on White Salmon Gl: We certainly did NOT take the 1939 Hanging glacier variation - we crossed the NW rib below it - as you can see by the toe' of the Hanging gl we were gunning for higher up (another 200 vert feet?): Easy rock on the crest of the NW rib before it split into multiple towers higher up was fairly solid and reminded me of Beacon rock. The rest was steeper, sketchier and unprotectable, but we promised to Oleg not to fall Since the middle part of Hanging gl had wall to wall impassable crevasses and shrunds, I was happy to spot the ephimeral ice flake connecting the glacier' ice fall to the NW arete which seemed to be the only way out. A la Price glacier around the corner which I climbed last year, but worse. Anita and Oleg attacking the dodgy flake: Hanging Glacier icefall had quite a few terrain traps, so the best thing was staying by and on the NW arete. Anita above the waterfall and approaching the upper icefall: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonG Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Yikes, that is some dangerous looking terrain. Glad everything worked out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BirdDog Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 TR of month winner here. Very well written. Congrats on a fine effort! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ace Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 This was the Full Monty of mountaineering: very exciting, burly, glacier/rock/ice route, but a festival of objective hazards that kept us on our toes--and on edge. We were also treated to some amazing sights: surreal seracs that looked like blue ice cities, enormous chunks of the Hanging Glacier collapsing and falling with a roar into the valley below us, a clear star-filled sky with meteors galore to entertain us at the forced bivy. Memorable for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YocumRidge Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 surreal seracs that looked like blue ice cities More Hanging gardens en route: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougd Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Very cool TR, pics, and sunglasses. Nice work y'all! d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 it doesn't count as a homo-huddle when both (!) of yer partners are chix! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YocumRidge Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 both (!) of yer partners are chix! He is climbing better that way. To each his own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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