Shuksan, N. Face/White Salmon Gl Beta?

[ski_photomatt]

Anyone been into the White Salmon valley recently, either to climb the north face or White Salmon Glacier? I'm wondering how much of the brush is snow covered, especially the gigantic alder thicket farther up valley. I'm contemplating a ski ascent/descent of the White Salmon Glacier and planning on using a high approach, from the utility road leaving the lower parking lot at the ski area. A little brush in the old growth is ok if it leads to snow relatively rapidly; working through the alder thicket with skis isn't.

[mattp]

Just a guess, but I'm pretty sure you'll find the brush in the bowl below Shuksan Arm is melted out and probably leafing out by now.

 

By the way, if you do head in there, try the trick used by a friend of mine from Kodiak, where there is a thousand feet of willow brush to crawl through before you get to the skiing. Tie your skis together, bottoms facing each other, and hang them from the side of your pack, a little above the bottom attachment of one of the shoulder straps, so that they are fully in balance or nearly in balance with a little more weight to the rear and the tails forward (tips trail behind you). You rest an arm on the skis and steer the tails wherever you want to go. They do not get caught up in the brush even a tiny fraction of the amount that you do carrying them the normal way.

[JoshK]

I couldn't believe the difference 3 weeks made in the brush in upper bachelor creek. from bare and fairly easy to whack through to completely sprouted and thick as molasses.

[Alpinfox]

 

I climbed NF almost exactly a month ago. The entire bushwack traverse was melted out then, so it probably still is.

 

You won't get to snow until you get to the base of the glacier.

 

That bushwack would SUCK with skis on your pack.

 

I recommend you ski up the Sulphide Gl.

 

Good luck.

 

[ski_photomatt]

Thanks for the info guys. When we approached the north face this way last August there were two distinct brush sections. One had old growth and stream crossings coming down from Shuksan Arm, then a small talus field and then a gigantic alder thicket before the snowfields. I was hoping the alder would be still be snow covered from a winter's worth of avalanche debris. The old growth section I'm not so worried about.

 

MattP, I've used a similar technique with skis, strapping them into a gigantic V at the waist belt with tips forward. Your method would probably work a little better.

 

[Gary_Yngve]

Anyone else been up recently?

 

Seemed last year all the cool kids climbed NF Shuksan, and this year it's not the rage anymore.

[MtnChicken]

Some friends were just up there last week for the N. Face. And one said:

 

The approach to the N. Face isn't too bad (your normal bushwhack approach, not as bad as it can be.), however getting to the White Salmon would be a chore, sounded pretty nasty. The actual conditions looked good, though. The temps were sky-high when they were there and it put the N. Face out of commission with high objective dangers due to serac collapse from the heat.

 

Have fun!