Route from Buckner to Park Creek Pass

[cam yarder]

Hey all, 

Does anyone know what it's like getting from the summit of Buckner to Park Creek Pass? Looking for a direct alternative instead of dropping into the Stehekin Valley and joining the Park Creek Trail. 

Descending SE from the summit looks tricky on Google Earth, but sometimes the satellite view is deceiving. 

Would the east-trending ridge from the summit of Buckner to Park Creek Pass be a viable option? 

Thanks 

[JasonG]

2 hours ago, cam yarder said:

Would the east-trending ridge from the summit of Buckner to Park Creek Pass be a viable option? 

No.  I climbed up this ridge to the summit from Park Creek pass in 1999.  It was a full on choss-fest with lots of very, very loose 4th class. It is also quite long and took most of a day.  We had a couple close calls with rockfall and counted ourselves lucky to have survived unscathed (we descended SW into Horseshoe basin and ultimately the Stehekin valley).  Check out page 333 in the green CAG for a photo of the ridge from the south. 

"Much of the (east) ridge is knife-edge with very loose rock, and may be dangerous without a rope".  I would add that it is still dangerous WITH a rope.

You're not going to find descending to the SE any better....

[cam yarder]

Thanks for the info. 

 

I’m thinking the Buckner-Booker col is the best option. 

[Blake]

Descend from the Booker-Buckner col, or on snow close to it, to an elevation equivalent to the toe of the glacier and the toe of the SE ridge. Then you can start contouring under the more NE glacier portion and heading up to the pass.