Glacier Peak Mid-June? And what boots?

[wfinley]

Greetings - haven't posted here in a while but am doing a mid-June Cascade's trip & need beta.

I am meeting family for a mid-June climbing trip (6/12-6/17). Initially I had hoped to try Glacier but preliminary research is showing not many people do it this time of year. I'm assuming mid-June is the isothermal muck season between May skiing and July climbing?  Is this correct? Do people do it in June or is it just too wet and soft?

Also - what boots do people carry for Cascade volcanos in June?  I've done Shuksan and Baker in early June and brought my Nepals - is that the suggested boot type for peaks like Adams and Glacier or do people bring lighter boots? 

Thx for the beta. Excited to climb out of state again.

[mthorman]

I climbed Glacier in June 18-20, 2020.  We had great corn snow a few hundred feet below the summit about 9am.  Walked in hiking boots until we hit snow in the switchbacks before meeting the PCT, then skinned from there to where we camped at the base of the mountain.  Put crampons on ski boots for the morning ascent and skied down.

In general I prefer a lighter boot for Cascades in the summer (June-Sept)....something 3 season like the Scarpa Charmoz or La Sportiva Trango etc.

[Bronco]

16 hours ago, wfinley said:

I am meeting family for a mid-June climbing trip (6/12-6/17). Initially I had hoped to try Glacier but preliminary research is showing not many people do it this time of year.

Most likely due to bad weather more than anything.  Summer alpine season is typically July-Sept.  I have a fuzzy memory of the third week of August being the most reliable weather if you're trying to plan a trip in advance.

[wfinley]

Thx for the replies.  We'll switch to other objectives with something to the east as a backup in case weather is less than ideal.

[Kameron]

June is usually later than the isothermal mush season. It should be consolidated for skiing/hiking. With this year's snowpack, there probably will not be much snow below white pass come June. I saw a trip report from last weekend up there and it seemed like skiing coverage is "good" now (not much snow in the valley hike, mostly continuous above).

[wfinley]

5 hours ago, Kameron said:

June is usually later than the isothermal mush season. It should be consolidated for skiing/hiking. With this year's snowpack, there probably will not be much snow below white pass come June. I saw a trip report from last weekend up there and it seemed like skiing coverage is "good" now (not much snow in the valley hike, mostly continuous above).

Thx. Sounds like it’s mostly due to weather then. We’ll watch weather and snow levels and decide closer to June.