billyd

Great report and pics.

We drove back up to the border, did a quick U-turn ( there is a U-turn lane ) and re-entered officially having our passports scanned in. We explained the situation ( the climb/routes/trails and we looked very dirty and tan ) and the young guy was cool. Two of our party have Nexus passes and are frequently in Canada. They did not want to jeopardize losing the passes. Turns out it was the smart thing to do and it was no hassle. We highly recommend doing this.

Big packs..... and lots of Ramen and couscous. Since we are getting older and weaker this was our first traverse with virtually no alcohol. We won't make that mistake again!

Trip: North Cascades Redoubt/Spickard Area 7/23-7/30 - Redoubt/Spickard/Custer/Rahm w/ high route finish Date: 7/23/2011 Trip Report: We ( Clark, Spence, Walt and Bill )are longtime listeners and first time callers to Cascade Climbers.com so I hope this first trip report is up to speed. C,S,W and B used to be frequent weekend alpinists. Now in our later years we get out one or two weekends a year and for our annual weeklong traverse. Over the years we have completed some great ones, Ptarmigan, Dakobed Range, Bailey Range, Pyramid-Inspiration and Bacon-Blum to name a few. This year we planned to combine some peakbagging in the Redoubt-Spickard area along with the Redoubt-Whatcom High Route described in the red book. Day 1, 7/23 We found no cars at the Depot Creek Trailhead. As we started off the trail was in surprisingly good shape and one of the better “climbers” trails we’ve been on. We parked about 1 mile from the true end of the road and were glad we did. It looks like ATVs (border guards maybe) can take the trail nearly to the border. The approach was uneventful .... but a lot of up with 8 day packs. We did not set any time records and got to a sweet, flat, sandy bench about 200 ft above still nearly completely frozen Ouzel Lake for dinner. The weather was fair with no bugs and we slept under the stars. The Depot Creek Falls was flowing full-on and is definitely one of the top highlights we have seen in the North Cascades. Day 2, 7/24 Today we moved camp up to Spickard Pass and climbed Spickard via the Silver Glacier. A gorgeous day! Lots of snow, but the schrund at 8400ft was only passable on the far left and far right. We took the left, gained the ridge and scrambled up. A great summit! Those bridges over the schrund won’t last long. Only one party (on the 4th of July weekend) had signed the register prior to us. Fast glissading got us down to camp pronto where we dug a snow platform and again slept out again under the stars…… but the clouds were coming as we went to bed. BTW, I usually think of passes as nice, flat, heathery spots and many are (Cloudy and Perfect). Spickard Pass is not that. We excavated a lot of snow to get a flat spot. Day 3, 7/25 W and B got up early and climbed Custer and Rahm. Custer was loose and chossy as previously described and the exposure on the crazy loose rock at the notch on the approach ridge was the most uneasy B felt during the whole trip. We found no summit register on Custer. The gully on Rahm was half filled with snow and went easily. The last person to sign that register was in September 2009. We then linked three long glissades to 90% frozen Silver Lake and thought about how wonderful a camp at the lake’s head would be in a couple more weeks. The clouds had started to lower on Rahm and the wind picked up as we trudged up to Spickard Pass. Once there the first rain drops started. W and B were happy to see that C and S had grabbed the tent and had descended (after their Custer ridge explorations) back to our super spot above Ouzel Lake. As we were getting ready to depart we heard some rockfall. Looking up we saw 20 mountain goats; 7 ewes and 7 kids and 6 other stragglers. We enjoyed watching their effortless climbing and know that as soon as we left they would clamber down and lick all our urine spots. We were glad they hadn’t torn and eaten the straps of the packs we had left behind. We glissaded 1600 verts back to our bench and quickly secured gear and got in the tent. It rained from about 1430 – 2030, sometimes heavily, and then let up. We cooked in the floorless Megamid pleased with the huge covered space and happy not to be out getting soaked. Day 4, 7/26 When we woke up there was some partial clearing ( coming in and out ) that gave us enough view to ascend the rock ledges immediately above Ouzel Lake to gain the Redoubt Glacier. 3 or 4 timely cairns let us know we were on the right path. We lunched on the glacier and then traversed, gaining and losing a bit of altitude until, through the clouds and mist, we spied a bench above fully frozen Bear Lake that might make a decent camp. We descended and found a bit of bare rock and heather to cook and hang out on and once again, we excavated a snow platform for the Megamid. It was a short distance day today but we were happy to have been able to move at all and stay on route. The barometer continued to go down and did not bode well for tomorrow. Day 5, 7/27 We awoke to bad visibility. For most of the day we could not see Bear Mt right across the lake. Napping, reading and playing cards filled the day. But the barometer was going up quickly! By evening, we saw parts of Redoubt for the first time and then Bear Mt popped out of the clouds. Things were looking good for tomorrow! Day 6, 7/28 W and B got up at 400 hrs and were climbing at 415 hrs. Did I mention that we rarely bring crampons? Over the last 20+ years, for the most part, we have only used crampons on the volcanoes. Usually, with the right slope aspect or sleeping in long enough we have found enough snow soft to get some purchase on. This morning we would have to wait. We ascended the easy slopes to below the flying buttress in record time but at the top the snow was bullet proof. Exercising patience that is usually not one of our trademarks, we scrambled over the ridge at 7700ft and found a super flat and comfortable resting spot. And there we sat for over 3 hrs watching the sun come up. It was windless and silent and crystal clear. A truly great morning! One of our most memorable. As the sun rose it wrapped around our ridge and the flying buttress and began to warm the steep snow slopes on the standard Redoubt Route. Around 9am, with the snow sufficiently soft enough to kick in a 3”step and to secure a solid self belay, we climbed up. We easily found the right gully and the little cairns and rappel slings let us know we were on the correct route. The climbing was on solid rock and in no time we were on the summit. Once again one previous party had been there this year on July 4th weekend. ( By the summit registers on Redoubt and Spickard it looks like 8-9 parties sign in each year ). We stayed on the warm, windless summit for awhile and then descended. We rapped once ( one full pitch from the cannonhole chockstone down the steepest part of the icy, steepish gully) and downclimbed the rest. By now the snow had really softened and we were able to mostly glissade back to camp avoiding some schrunds on the steepest slopes on the descent. It was to be one of our longer days. Down around noon, we rested and packed and headed out around 1330 hrs to traverse to Middle Lakes. Our party was a bit tired and we settled on making the saddle above East Lakes for the night. We made the 4.7 mile snow traverse and ridge walk (2500 verts) by dinner. Everyone was glad to stop. We dug another snow platform, set up the tent and cooked a big dinner on a heather bench while resting in our Thermarest chairs and having some Baileys. It turns out that this camp was much more desirable than Middle Lakes. We saw the next day that Middle Lakes was completely snowed in. As we went to bed clouds came in but the barometer stayed steady. Day 7, 7/29 Up and out pretty early. A 600ft climb right from the saddle would be all the verts we would do today. Following a ridge and gaining the correct bowl we glissaded into Middle Lakes by 9am. Not ready to join the trail and the masses at Whatcom Pass, we found a comfortable heather spot and were elated as the sun appeared, the clouds blew out and we were left with impressive views of Challenger and Whatcom Peak. We ate lunch and around 1300hrs descended to Whatcom Pass. Here we saw our first people in a week. We still needed to do the 10 trail miles to our designated camp at Copper Creek. Amusingly, our toughest route finding would be along snowed over trails! Descending from Whatcom Pass, the snow did not relent until about 4000 ft. A large avalanche across the trail at 4500 ft was a big obstacle and Brush Creek was roaring with sketchy snow bridges. It was easier traveling off trail while doing the high route. We pounded down the trail and used the cable car to cross the Chilliwack River. Then along the Chilliwack Trail we came upon another large avalanche that had clipped off the tops of large trees like toothpicks 20 feet above the ground. Very cool! In camp for dinner time and our first real bathing in a week. And remarkably, there were no bugs at our forest camp. Day 8, 7/30 We enjoyed a quick hike out on a gorgeous day. There must have been 100 or more people hiking up as we came down. The wonderful fiancé of C ( who also dropped us off at Depot Creek ) had hiked in to Hannagan Pass to escort us out. We walked out, got cleaned up and hit the Beer Shrine! Another great traverse completed. Now the fun planning for next years trip begins. If any of you have ideas for moderate week long traverses in the North Cascades, that might include bagging a few of the Top 100 peaks, I would love to hear about them. The more time spent on glaciers the better. Cheers! Gear Notes: - usual glacier gear. - bring crampons for early am ascents, not needed if you are patient and/or sleep in. - a friction device for a rap or two off Redoubt Approach Notes: - Depot Creek Approach is in good shape - Avalanches at 4500 ft below Whatcom and at 3000 ft along the Chilliwack will slow you down.

Hey there, I will be around this summer and, though working, can probably get away for some mid-week overnight climbing. I live in Mukilteo, WA (30 mins north of Seattle) and have not done much climbing since the kids came. Now that they are older I am trying to ease back in. I would be interested in WA Cascade climbing. I love the North Cascades. 1 night 2 day climbs mid-week that I have wanted to do include Mt. Logan, Jack Mt, Mt Gardner and others on the Bulger List. Let me know if any of this suits you.