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Trip: Mt Shuksan - Hanging Glacier - 1939 Date: 8/7/2009 Trip Report: Last week marked my true return to the NW. I moved back in Jan but life things kept me from the mountains for ~8 mo. I connected with my always trusty partner Kurt and we planned for a multi-route weekend on Shuksan. We had planned day one for approach, days two and three for different routes on the mountain, and day four to get back down leisurely. Weather played nice for the first two days: ~6000' cloud deck + ~7000' bivy = sweet photo ops! We took a swing at the Hanging Glacier route, the 1939 line from Beckey (click for full pic). It was awesome! The 1939 route has just about something for everyone and is extremely enjoyable: mildly technical rock scrambles, satisfyingly steep ice pitches, phenominal position, fantastic views, fun summit pitches. Currently there is a gaper on the upper Hanging Gla which we dropped into and out the side of, crossing toward but not quite onto, the NW Couloir Route. Overall it's extremely aesthetic and a fantastic moderate alpine adventure. Highly recommended. Happy Campers back at the bivy: Day three dawned thick as thieves with a whopping ~50' vis: After thinking about the NW Arete or the NW Arayete the evening before, we called it good in the morning, sleeping in and hiking out the Chimneys after what was an "everything" route the previous day. GREAT trip. More pics HERE. Gear Notes: handful of screws and used them small rack and used it 1 small unused picket Approach Notes: Fisher Chimneys, straightforward

Depends where you choose to head up. My esteemed partner headed a little right of normal and we pulled up to the ridge under a ~40' vertical step. If we had sidehilled more, we would have picked up the toe of the ridge which would have been very mellow angle. If you're in the mood, you can likely find anything to suit your taste of adventure up there. Our TR from 26 July 2007 In this photo taken above the top of the hourglass shortcut, head left for mellow access to true N Ridge, head right for all the spiciness you desire:

Holy crap Bala! That sounds like bad news. Best wishes for a full and strong recovery. On a semi-related note, you just may well get what you're asking for. You won't see me on any ice in PHX, but as long as you recover strong, healthy and a little smarter (meant in the most constructive and "positive learning experience" manner)... You will be seeing me somewhere else! (check out my new sig)

I'm booked a little later than I realized (til ~8ish). You guys can connect and figure out where to go and I'll ring you up when I am freed up and will meet you guys where ever. I have a flight at 7A tomorrow so it's a quick trip. See you tonight! CK

I will be in town for the evening and looking to connect indoors on Mon eve? Who's up for something? Chad? Donn? Rodney? Bala? Frieh? Anyone??? Anyone??? Somewhere near downtown or NE perhaps? CK

Nice work gents, nothing but jealous down here. CK

It's AWESOME!!

If you're looking for scenery vs challenge, West Mac Spire's West ridge would be a good scramble if you're looking to build stoke and traveling solo. It's pretty chill and as routes in the Pickets go, the navigation is super straightforward. If you've got a friend to play with, there are other routes in that part of the cirque which run about the difficulty you're looking for but I've not done them. Look up Inspiration or check the other routes on the Mac Spires. The Barrier looked daunting from the east side of the cirque. As an aside, I see you too found my favorite rock:

WTF? Please explain. Thx!

TR from '06 The ascent from Big Beaver to E-W is not overwhelming. We had no yellowjackets but obviously your mileage may vary. I never finished editing the TR but the beta you want is in there- especially in the photos, and the full size ones are linked from the thumbnails. You will bushwhack. It won't be like trail hiking but if you're mentally prepared for it, it's not insurmountable. It turned out to be much more reasonable than I expected and not nearly as bad as my personal high water mark of trying to schwack into the White Salmon on Shuksan after the valley melted out. Once you attain the ridge, you're traveling above treeline and it's pretty cruiser. There are even some game/climbers trails to follow. Check out the pics, you'll see how wide and broad Beaver Pass is. When you get there, look for any major gully or cliff features and pick a line between/around them and start up. Keep checking above you for any additional obstacles and alter course as needed. That's what we did and it works pretty well. Best of luck with it!

Nope, but I can see why you might want to think so. Pretty sure it's Queen's Chair as described (topout of Sunshine on left snowslope with crevasses, Sandy Gla HW, Yokum Ridge, and Leutholds Couloir from left to right). We were just there last weekend. The gendarme column above the Eliot is a definitive clue. The berg *is* completely open but if you really want it, it'd be possible to negotiate (we did so by climbing into, across and up the other side). You will need to assess the objective hazards along the way and when you get there. Don't be afraid to try and fail, just make sure your priorities and decision making keep you safe.

And for anyone wondering what the summit looks like right now, from KGW: This is Queen's Chair with the topout of Sunshine (left snowslope with crevasses), Sandy Gla HW (snow triangle in middle of pic), Yokum Ridge (heading out of the pic to the right) and Leutholds Couloir (entering from bottom right)

It doesn't take a bus to bring you down. Look at the pic. Anywhere there is brown above you, there is a rockfall potential. Anywhere there is white above you there is ice- or snow cookie-fall potential. FWIW, I considered the crossing of the lower developing schrund at Anderson Rock (the lower rock in the pic) as a mildly committing move. It was clearly reversable, though my preference was not to try it. The slope gradient starts to increase from there. Our majorly committing move was crossing the Horseshoe Rock schrund. Yours may be different. To get to weakness in its upper wall, we had to traverse slightly out to the Eliot. This was also a nearly vertical pitch of potentially variable snow, or at least of unknown quality. It held tools til the top, where it got soft and required some excavation to get good feet for the transition over the lip. Regardless if there's white or brown above you, there is always some sort of noise echoing off the Eliot Headwall at this time of year. There was boot track which made a level traverse of the upper Eliot to the climber's left side which looked very stable and much more amenable to a crevasse-free path to the summit ridge. When we were about halfway between Anderson and Horseshoe Rocks I watched a big-screen TV rock roll right across this track. You can see how that affected our route. The best thing would be to prepare yourself however you consider appropriate (both from a gear carried and a support- ie shuttle- standpoint) and head up as far as you feel comfortable. If you're skilled and comfortable crossing and possibly descending the Eliot, go at least that far. Snowdome was in good shape when we were on it but it can develop glide cracks as it melts. By the time you get to the top of Snowdome you're likely to have a very good assessment of your ability and desire to continue up. You are fairly removed from rockfall hazards until the top of Snowdome so the objective hazards felt manageable. My advice is pretty straightforward. If it's in your comfort zone, plan appropriately and give it a shot. Don't be afraid, ashamed, etc... to turn around for any reason. I've done it. This was my third or fourth time to the top of Snowdome. It's work to get there but my objective is to make the parking lot, not the summit. I was also much happier to scrounge for a ride back to Cloud Cap and whatever variables that might bring than to descend the Spur. Our route was irreversably soft by the time we topped out and I had no intention of descending it. Chris

The post above yours was the route we took Sat morning, 7/26. My advice is to bring two tools. There's a schrund which you'll need to cross and we did so via climbing in, across and up the uphill wall. It was similar to cragging on the Eliot, not a huge pitch but instead of dinner plating ice it was a mix of solid fern/plastic glacier ice. Tools stuck well and it was maybe 25' to top out. If you're not comfortable with that, the traverse option worked as well, but it was a long way around and the ramp was small and likely smaller by now. As a consideration, I would HIGHLY recommend descending the South Side. Even though our car was back at Cloud Cap, we decided to anyway, unaware of what was happening on Cooper Spur as we did. My heart goes out to the family. I try to climb with my dad at least once a year and this would be devastating. Once we made the first remotely committing move, I mentally accepted we'd be hitching a ride around the mountain to the car.

As of yesterday, the route still will go straight up past Horseshoe Rock as well as with an interesting traverse. We were a party of 4, 2 teams of 2, and one team did each option. There was another party in front of us which had turned around from the traverse as well as another after us which followed our tracks up. We had to drop into the crevasse under Horseshoe Rock to cross it and move more out toward the upper Eliot. Once out there we dropped in, crossed it and climbed the uphill side face (~25'). We took ice tools and I was happy we did and used them as such. As soon as I say you need two tools on it someone will go get it with a single alpine axe. I would have done the traverse if we weren't geared for it. Our route in red over Frikadeller's pic. For the party interested in skiing from the summit, wait til next year as there's virtually NO SNOW on the top of the mountain. It looked like a beach.

NICE WORK!! Brings back some fantastic memories for me and I am extremely jealous! Glad to hear you finally got something done in there. Good luck in Aug. Chris

Chris, Kurt and I are headed there next week. Will you still be around? CK

FANTASTIC times Terry! Great trip! Until the next one... CK

Goldenchild, HERE is a TR from when I climbed it with my dad in '03. I'd imagine the snowpack is different now (did it in mid-August) but that should simplify things for you. Pics from the trip start HERE . This is a phenominal area and an incredibly aesthetic route. If you think you'll be comfortable on it, grab some pickets and give it a go. If it's more than you bargained for, the route is completely reversable without consequence- barring failng snow bridges, etc. Give it a go if you're up for the effort! Chris

Snow all the way from the gully to the summit. Check the pics in the middle. It's in great shape, no issues- but with the disclaimer that it's been almost a week and things change... If you're thinking about it, give it a go. Chris

Trip: Mt Stuart - Ice Cliff Glacier Date: 6/21/2007 Trip Report: Good times were had. The route was in interesting shape with good ramps on the left side leading to a very spicy yawner across the entire glacier. Climbed into, across and up the high side which was heady for me but thoroughly enjoyable once it was behind me. Upper portion was very soft and the cornice is long gone. Sherpa descent was straightforward but the lower part slab-alanched about 15 min after we got back to the Ice Cliff Moraine. The Ice Cliff itself was actively calving during the night and quite a bit during the day. Gear Notes: Three shorty screws, one fluke, two pickets and a small rock rack. Simul'd the whole route using the screws, the pickets and some of the rack. Approach Notes: BUGGY to beat the band all the way to the moraine.

Trip: Eldorado Peak - E Ridge Date: 7/3/2007 Trip Report: The pics tell the story- the route's in fine shape. Snow all the way from the gully to the summit and from the upper waterfall to the ridge. Beautiful climb and the girlfriend's first North Cascades experience. Three days, two nights. She had a fantastic time (and did phenominally!) but was happy to make it back to the truck... Gear Notes: 3 pickets (would have been marginal if weighted) Approach Notes: Log crossing is good, talus field was buggy, minimal dry ground on the ridge for bivies right now.

Wayne, You still looking? Party of 2 heading in at the end of the month. Ring me if interested for dates. Chris four eight zero two 3 one 26 five 6

Hi to whomever left me a message today. You called from a number which wasn't answered when I missed your call moments prior. Also your voicemail was scrambled and your complete phone number was not intelligible. Please give me a call back and leave your number again. Chris

No takers as of yet. Anyone up for shorter trips to other locales during these dates? Web access is still spotty so try my number and leave a message with yours. Chris