tr mt shuksan via sulphide glacier

[the_mule]

did this climb with my friend peter on 07/18-07/19. was at the trail at 8am and the parking area was already crowded. trail was good all the way up. reached snow level at 4,700 ft and the 1st of four guided groups(explained all the cars). climbed up through the col and past second guided group. traversed snow via obvious path to camp at base of sulfide glacier (5,700 ft). we set up camp and notied it was only 1pm (5 hours from car at a very relaxed pace), and since i forgot to bring the scrabble board, we decided to summit that day. took a light pack and no rope and started up. a couple of crevases were starting to open up, but easy to avoid and overall a pretty straight shot up the glacier. passed the other two guided groups who told us the central gully had a lot of steep, soft snow and wet rock, and advised us to place some protection. excellent advice, but we had read that it was an easy 3rd/4th class scramble and thus had brought no gear. we decided to check it out anyways. reached the pyramid in 3 hours. they hadn't lied, but there were good boot steps kicked in and we both felt ok about the rock, so up we went. it was fairly challenging, nothing i would suggest a basic climber try, but very doable. took us an hour to summit and we hung out awhile enjoying the view. the down climb was actually easier than going up since we stayed more on the rock. took us about 2-3 hours to get back to camp. one of the guided groups had some leftovers they kindly shared with us (thank you cece and tracy). later that night i used the snow free outdoor facilities under a full moon with a superb view of the surrounding mountains. next morning got up in time to see the sunrise mountain glow (alpenglow?), made breakfast and headed out past the hordes coming up the mountain. would suggest doing this hike during the week to avoid the crowds. could probably do it in a long day, but was very happy we camped overnight.

[Robc]

Our party of two summited at 10:30 am on the 18th. Thanks to Aaron for his excellent leads up the gully, protected with pickets. In spite of the loose rock a classic North Cascades ascent, I think.