[TR] Shuksan - Fisher Chimneys 09/21/2019

[aaasen]

Trip: Shuksan - Fisher Chimneys

Trip Date: 09/21/2019

Trip Report:

 

Missed this mountain over the summer. Fortunately the snow has returned and it will be time to ski soon. I had never been on Shuksan in the summer before and it was pretty wild to see these glaciers without a thick coat of snow.

 

Winnie's Slide was melted down to ice and two tools were nice. Upper Curtis was broken up but still easily navigable. Substantial fresh snow above 7.5k. S gully of the summit pyramid had an inconvenient amount of snow so we decided to try a circumnavigation of the summit instead. Couldn't find a reasonable way onto the Crystal Glacier so we made a short loose scramble up Point 8165 and called it good.  Got back to the car right at dark for a 14 hour day.

 

Photos:

1. Winnie's Slide

 

2. Hell's Highway

3. Spooky S Face of Nooksack Tower

4. Jagged Ridge and Seahpo Peak with the Pickets behind

5. Sulphide

6. Pika

 

All photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/mETUJJNBMGku3Tdr7

 

Gear Notes:
2 tools, a few cams, ice screws, 60m rope

Approach Notes:
Lake Ann to Fisher Chimneys

Edited September 24, 2019 by aaasen
Add photos

[JasonG]

Good eye for the interesting photos!

[ivan]

the mountain and the route that convinced me to move my crazy scene way more west

[genepires]

that winnie slide photo is a shock.  I have been up that route a handful of times, the latest part of the season was mid august and it was bare ice top to bottom.  I never saw any exposed rock like in your photo.  I guess 12 years of climate change.......   

[aaasen]

4 hours ago, genepires said:

that winnie slide photo is a shock.  I have been up that route a handful of times, the latest part of the season was mid august and it was bare ice top to bottom.  I never saw any exposed rock like in your photo.  I guess 12 years of climate change.......   

Wow, that is a shock if those rocks weren't exposed 12 years ago. This is the highest point of the White Salmon so if it's shrinking that quickly then the White Salmon has almost no accumulation zone. 

[mrice1225]

On 9/25/2019 at 5:34 AM, genepires said:

that winnie slide photo is a shock.  I have been up that route a handful of times, the latest part of the season was mid august and it was bare ice top to bottom.  I never saw any exposed rock like in your photo.  I guess 12 years of climate change.......   

Since I have it, here's a pic of  Winnie's Slide I took on Aug 17th from nearly the same spot, a bit farther to the right I think. Still a little bit of snow but the rocks at the bottom are poking out.

[genepires]

yeah the last time I was up there was 12 years ago and it was snow and ice from the point where you bust over the ridge to well above the winnie slide area.  damn.