Your Favorite Spring Steep Snow Climbs?

[jared_j]

There's faces and couloirs all over the range, some with easy access, some not.  I've been on a lot of the standards, and want to hear from the experienced pros on this site about your favorites that aren't necessarily in the "Selected..." books/lists.  I'm not a good skier so I'm asking more from the perspective of having a fun climb experience.

[ivan]

cooper spur's hard to beat, though being able to ski and/or having a snow-mobile is nice

[JasonG]

So if you've probably done the NBC on Colchuck, perhaps a step up to the NEBC?

Some others:

whatever that gully is on Argonaut.

There is an interesting couloir facing Hwy 20 off Whistler Peak, with a spicy mixed finish

The couloir on SEWS

It's in the book, but the Stuart Glacier Couloir is way up on my list

Whitehorse is a slog, but the top is fun and a bit on the steep side

More of a winterish climb if you want steep snow, but Whitechuck is fun

With the right amount of snow, the North face ramp on Wilman's peak is fun.  Or go up to East Wilman's. Steep snow to steep rock finish

That the kind of stuff you are looking for @jared_j?

 

[genepires]

yeah in select climb but n face shuksan is great steep snow climb in spring. 

i guess you may need to define what a steep snow climb means?  how steep?  and how long?

n face maude is another.  even in summer time.

when the north cascade hwy gets open, there are plenty of nice snow gulleys to go up.  One being the gulley that splits the north side of whistler peak.  it is real obvious when climbing in the liberty bell group.  not sure the name of the route on whistler as I don't have my guidebook here.  But it is a real nice snow climb to the ridgeline, then a small bit of manky rock (3rd class) to the main face and summit.  we descended the same way up.

also, if looking for smaller objectives, I had good luck just going into snoq pass and wandering around till you find something worth doing.   Seem to remember there being some gulleys in pineapple basin above source lake.  North facing side of course.

 

just get off these spring snow climbs before the sun beats down on the snow pack.   Big wet point release slides came down on the north couloir of colchuck on us and it was not even late in day but the sun was beating on this one small slab all morning.

 

 

[montypiton]

perhaps better known as a north side descent route, the Sherpa Glacier couloir on Stuart.   east ridge on Ingalls = couple pitches of steep snow to a 5-easy rock finish.

to clarify JasonG "whatever that gully is on Argonaut" likely is the northeast couloir - a fine steep snow gully, but be ready for a 5.6 rock finish if you hope to summit Argonaut.

-Haireball

[Joe_Poulton]

On 3/19/2018 at 11:14 PM, ivan said:

cooper spur's hard to beat, though being able to ski and/or having a snow-mobile is nice

@ivan, when did you snowmobile it?  Second that, Cooper is awesome, considering doing it again.

[ivan]

never have, and i was just suggesting sled-necking the cloud cap road to the parking lot, not into the wilderness area