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Trip: Mount Shuksan - Fisher Chimneys Trip Date: 10/03/2020 Trip Report: Mount Shuksan (9131’), Fisher Chimneys Route Trip Report – October 3-4, 2020 I Climbed Mount Shuksan (9131’), Fisher Chimneys Route over the weekend going solo. Class 3-4 with steep ice/snow sections. I’ve been thinking about doing this route for years. A weather window opened up and I had the time and motivation to finally make it happen. I figured late season would have less people on route which would make the climbing safer and faster. I Started from the Austin Pass/Lake Ann Trailhead at 9:00am Saturday, finished 7:00pm Sunday. A glorious weekend in the North Cascades! Overall this is a great climb that tests your skills and pucker factor. Tips and Notes: ) I did this climb as a two day trip. Worked out well. 6 hours on day 1 to Camp above Winnie’s Slide (7100’), 12 hours on day 2 from camp to summit to car. Day 2 was long but not too bad. ) Water Options: Lots of water on the way to the Start of the Fisher Chimneys. Next water source was at the camp at the base of Winnie’s Slide and at the camp above Winnie’s Slide. Nothing in between. There is water along the route to the summit, but it is very difficult to get to. Water up at the base of Hell’s Highway for the trip up and back. ) Camp options: There is a camp on the ridge at the top of the 1st Chimney section just before the talus field to the 2nd Chimney – 2-3 spots. There is a camp at the base of Winnie’s Slide – 2-3 spots. There is a camp at the top of Winnie’s Slide – 6-7 spots, great water supply, best camp in my opinion. You can camp above Hell’s Hwy but you will be on snow and will need to bring water or melt snow. ) Spicy Sections: Winnie’s slide is mostly pure blue ice right now and it is steep. I climbed the left side in between the crevasses as it looked better to me. It was a mix of shitty ice and icy snow but worked out fine. The Top of Hell’s Hwy is mostly ice and the best option was climbing the knife edge to the upper section. It is exposed and the ice/snow is not that great but it worked out fine again. ) Equipment Considerations: I brought Steel Crampons and two Ice Tools. This worked well for me. I didn’t bring a rope but could definitely see where it would be very nice to have one, especially for Winnie’s Slide. Going up and down the icy sections without a backup required total focus and perfection. Bring a rope if that would be a problem. ) Travel Time for reference: Day 1 – 9:00-11:30am Trailhead to Start of Fisher Chimneys, 3:15pm arrived at top of Winnie’s Slide Camp 7100’ - 6.25 hours. Day 2 - 7:00-10:00am 7100’ camp to summit, 12:30pm back to camp, 7:00pm back to TH – 12 hours. Gear used: (2) Ice Tools, Steel Crampons, Trekking Pole, Helmet Start of the Fisher Chimneys Defined trail along the Fisher Chimneys A Class 4 section of Fisher Chimneys Upper Fisher Chimneys starts on the other side of the talus field right next to the large rounded boulder with the shadow. Right side of Winnie's Slide from lower camp. Left side of Winnie's Slide from lower camp. I went through the lower part of the crevasses and went straight up. Beginning of Hell's Hwy. Note the location of the climbers on route. I climbed the rock ridge to that location to start the Hwy. Hell's Hwy from 7100' camp. The knife ridge on the right was the best route up. Upper Inside Corner of Hell's Hwy. Icy Steep and nasty. Looking back on Hell's Hwy at the top of the knife ridge. Shuksan Summit Pyramid. A fair amount of snow on route. Snow was firm with ice in spots. Party on the Summit. 8 other climbers thinking maybe late season would have less traffic. Only so many weather windows left for the year. Clouds moving in as I was heading back to the trailhead. I hit the weather window perfect! I would hate to be on the Fisher Chimneys in the rain. Gear Notes: (2) Ice Tools, Steel Crampons, Trekking Pole, Helmet Approach Notes: Started from the Austin Pass/Lake Ann Trailhead

For Silas. The bear was a major bonus.

Trip: Storm King Mountain (8515’) - North Ridge Route Trip Date: 09/05/2020 Trip Report: Storm King Mountain (8515’), North Ridge Route Trip Report – September 5-7, 2020 I climbed Storm King Mountain (8515’), North Ridge Route. I tried this route last year at the end of July but under estimated the amount of time, effort and amount of route finding required to do the route and had to turn around before making the summit. This year I still under estimated the time and effort required but was able to make the summit due to better beta from my previous attempt last year. It took me 3 days. I started at the Bridge Creek Trailhead off Hwy 20 just east of Rainy Pass. It was an out and back trip using Bridge Creek Trail to North Fork Trail into the North side of Goode and Storm King. The trail is in excellent shape all the way to Grizzly Creek Camp. After Grizzly Creek Camp the trail gets overgrown but is not hard to follow. The adventure starts when you cross the North Fork of Bridge Creek. Down low, after crossing the creek (3100’-3200’elevation), heading up the rocky brushy slope I almost walked into a large Wasp nest in the middle of the faint climbers trail. I got lucky and made a detour around the nest without incident. I followed a faint trail up the tree lined ridge between Goode and Storm King. The ridge tops out at 4700’ on a nice wide fairly flat plateau that would make a great camp, no water though. I continued up the ridge to about 5100’ and started my traverse over to the bottom of the North Ridge of Storm King (5000’). This is the easiest spot to gain the North Ridge of Storm King, right at the base of the glacier. The rock is a mix of Class 3, 4 and low 5th in spots heading up. On either side of the ridge it is steep, sheer rock so you will know if you are off route. It took me 5 hours to go from the base of the North Ridge to the Summit. I summited late at 6:00pm so I headed down to find a place to bivy at about 7200’ next to the snow field separating the upper and lower mountain. I got up early the next morning and started down at 6:30am. Once back at the bottom of the North Ridge I headed straight down and diagonal toward the creek valley below. On the map it looked like the easiest way down (contour line wise). Even though it was the easiest way down to the main creek, it still involved coming down several 10’ vertical drops that required careful Vege-Belaying technique. I usually hate Slide Alder, but in this case, I was very happy it was on the down route as it was very useful. Overall the North Ridge of Storm King is a tough climb. The approach is difficult, the exit is difficult, and the ridge requires your full attention. The trail into the area is long and you will need comfortable shoes to save your feet. There was a search and rescue helicopter flying all over the creek valley and up to the base of Goode on Sunday the 6th. Looks like they were doing a rescue. They spent some time parked on an island in the middle of the creek below. It was a good reminder to keep my shit wired tight doing this route. Hopefully all went well for the rescue operation. Some Tips and Notes: 1. This is a long trip. I should have spread the pain more evenly over the three days. Day 1 go as far up as you can to camp. I thought Grizzly Camp was far enough on Day 1, it wasn’t. 2. The climbers trail up the tree cover ridge between Goode and Storm King is steep and hard to follow. Mostly just look for skid marks from animals and humans to stay on route. 3. There are good camping options at 4700’ on the tree covered ridge and above. The 7200’ bivy spot on the side of Storm King is pretty good, If I had more of my gear with me it would have been very pleasant. There was water all along the route where there was melting snow/glacier. 4. A rope would probably be a good idea to bring along. Rappelling would have been nice in several spots but you would definitely have to watch for loose rock coming down on you as you rappel. A didn’t bring a rope to save weight and it worked out fine for me. 5. I brought an Ice Axe & Crampons and didn’t use them. Maybe early in the season they would have been needed. Travel Time for reference: Day 1 (TH to Grizzly Camp), 4.5 hours – Day 2 (Grizzly Camp to Summit to 7200’ bivy), 12.5 hours – Day 3 (7200’ bivy to TH), 14 hours. Gear used: Trekking Pole, Helmet, Ice Axe, Crampons, Full Gaiters, Work Gloves Wasp nest down low after crossing North Fork Bridge Creek around 3100-3200' Climbers Trail up tree cover ridge between Goode and Storm King View from 4700' ridge plateau Potential camp at 4700' ridge plateau Full view of North Ridge of Storm King. Start of ridge is the at the bottom right where the heavy shadow is (5000'). North Ridge start location (5000'). Get used to this view for the next several hours. View off to the side of the North Ridge. Storm King - "Where Echoes Go To Die" - I believe it, must have been climbing the North Ridge. Goode looking sexy like usual. Wish I had more time on the summit to enjoy the view, it was stunning. End of the Exit route. Farewell Storm King - North Ridge. Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hands. Gear Notes: Trekking Pole, Helmet, Ice Axe, Crampons, Full Gaiters, Work Gloves - Didn't need the Ice Axe or Crampons Approach Notes: Bridge Creek Trailhead - Bridge Creek Trail to North Fork Trail & back