TR: Whitehorse Mountain, 3/14/2004

[mvs]

Climb: Whitehorse Mountain-Whitehorse Glacier

 

Date of Climb: 3/13/2004

 

Trip Report:

Robert Meshew and I started hiking at 6:30 am from the end of Mine Road. A party of four was gearing up to follow behind us. Soon we reached the first av debries cone, putting on crampons after a few hundred feet. We'd have them on all the way to the summit and beyond, as all the snow was frozen hard. Taking a left fork in the gully, we knew we should climb brush slopes on the left side of Snow Gulch. But it looked sketchy, so we climbed into the brushy/cliffy buttress on our right. Thick brush led to cliffs passed on the right. But more cliffs above required a tricky traverse left. Eventually we set up a belay and Robert led 40 feet left across a mossy cliff. After that, brushy slopes gave way to snow again, and a long crampon trip up scoured gullies to the left. We moved right into rolling domes of snow. There are some well-formed ice climbs on the right cliffs. A long steep headwall was a real calf-burner. We reached the basin below the summit, and saw a party of three topping out. The final 20 feet were very steep and icy, you might want a rope. The view from the top was just amazing.

 

We set up a double rope rappel with our three new friends (Bob, Vlad, John), and hiked down the glacier to the High Pass notch (6000 feet). We thought we were taking the easy way down (to Lone Tree Pass and the Whitehorse Trail), but the snow conditions on the south side were bad for snowshoeing or walking. We settled for postholing our way across numerous slopes. We climbed up for 400 feet, then walked tiredly along the ridge to the west, eventually reaching Lone Tree Pass (4800 ft). We were able to remove crampons and glissade a while, but soon encountered scoured icy slopes again. We continued down along the left edge of a major stream, then decided to look for the trail in forest to the left at 2800 feet. We found it! Then we lost it. It was now getting dark, and we resorted to bushwhacking straight down and slightly left. John believed we'd find the trail on the other side of a slide alder field, so we crossed it. It was great to hear him announce he was standing on the trail. Yes, we would make it home tonight!

 

In retrospect we all thought the descent was at least as hard as the climb up the glacier, and wished we had just descended the way we came. We boasted of our manly achievement at an Arlington diner until they kicked us out.

 

Gear Notes:

crampons, axe, 30 meter rope. snowshoes used on relatively short portions of the descent.

Full-shank boots would have been great for the steep hard slopes.

 

Approach Notes:

Ha!

[klenke]

Great job, guys. I've been up to Lone Tree Pass and a little beyond. Didn't make the summit. I said the next time I'm going to go straight up the glacier (like you guys just did).

 

Here is a photo of the glacier and mountain:

It would be cool if you could take this photo, annotate the route you took up the glacier, then resubmit it here.

[catbirdseat]

Klenke, your new title, "volcano bigot", is an apt on.

[mattp]

Paul -

 

I'm not debating the "it would be cool" part, but you won't need the annotated photo if you try this route and a photo probably won't help much. Just walk to the end of "Mine Road," and continue to the creekbed just beyond. Turn right. You'll climb the right-hand of the two major snowy basins shown in your picture.

 

Don't try this after the snow/avalanche debris is melted out of the lower gully. I know you like brush, but it just wouldn't be a good idea.

[JoshK]

Matt, while I am certainly not arguing the climb is fun with the brush, when I did it last year there is actually a faint trail going up the left side of "snow gulch" if you can stay on it, which, surprisingly, I did, it makes the lower section not all that bad. If you can't find it and get stuck schwacking things would get very un-fun quickly.

[klenke]

Catbirdseat said, "Klenke, your new title, 'volcano bigot', is an apt one."

Huh?

 

Matt, your comment is based on the fact that you've done the route in question (at least I am assuming so). I have not. Besides, you say it's the snowbasin on the right (i.e., not the one at center?). Beckey intimates in his CAG that it is the one in the center. I still think an annotated route line would be handy to me. Maybe Michael can do it and send it to me via email so you don't have to waste your time looking at it.

[mattp]

Paul:

 

It is NOT the one up the center in your photo. Beckey mislabelled it in his older guide, and his "correction" in the latest edition still has some confusion about it.

 

I can't tell if you are joking or not, but I mean no criticism when I suggest that you don't need an annotated picture. If you DO get an annotation from Michael, bear in mind that he pointed out that you may not need to climb cliffs and belay a short section low on the climb as he did.

 

If the snow is gone, I'd look for Josh's trail. If there is still snow, I'd head up the debris like Michael did. When, perhaps 1,000 feet up, the valley has a cliff right in the middle of it, I'd suggest looking for a detour either right or left. We went up on the left and came down on the right.

 

I did not think routefinding was much of a problem.

[mattp]

Allright, Paul. Here you go. This is the way I went.

 

 

I thought it was OUTSTANDING.

[JoshK]

Paul, if you end up doing it more around spring time, let me know, I think I have some pictures looking straight up at the bottom of snow gultch where I could show you where to find the "trail". Once you get up to the snow it's a fun a snow climb in a very cool setting.

 

I would also second the descending the same way you came. I want down the trail way and found it very loooong. Going down snow gulch would be much quicker unless it's icy enough to demand several thousand feet of downclimbing.

[mvs]

Paul, here is the annotated picture.

 

Sadly, it can provide only the roughest idea of the route.

Matt, thanks for the beta the other day! I'm glad there is a trail for a springtime ascent.

[robertm]

 

 

 

[mvs]

I added a bloated/extended TR at http://www.mountainwerks.org/cma/2004/whitehorseg.htm

 

with some more pictures.

[klenke]

Nice TR. Well written. Like the summit pano.

Thanks to everyone for the extra info and annotated photos.

[chucK]

Nice TR Michael!

 

I especially liked the line "picking pine needles out of my eyeballs".

 

Man, that climb had everything!

 

This part does not look fun

[JoshK]

Hahahah...I remember that exact section of that climb (Lee? Tom? Look familiar?). We had no rope and were stuck monkey hanging through those brances. Beyond that there was some more nasty wet crap, that we luckily bypassed on the way down by sliding down a snowy slab to a 10 or 15 foot drop into a bunch of powder below. No, I'm not kidding.

[mvs]

Awesome! It is pretty amazing how routefinding occurs even in the densest brush! But I thought you went on a trail to the left of this cliff? That should be the mish-mash in the background of the photo.

[klenke]

It is pretty amazing how routefinding occurs even in the densest brush!

I've often contemplated this myself while huffing and puffing up through brush only to stumble upon evidence of other human impact. Or being able to find the place I came up on the return even though it's all brush. Humans are like homing pigeons when it comes to brush bashing. Or maybe it takes experience.

[Dru]

coming down from silvertip i took a visual bearing on hozomeen, crawled into the bush (it was that thick) and emerged 2 hours later EXACTLY at the car. homing instinct or what?

[leejams]

Hahahah...I remember that exact section of that climb (Lee? Tom? Look familiar?).

 

OMFG, that is a great picture chuck of the move from hell. That slab is slicker than snot, been there and done that twice. I know there has to be a better way around this, but always seem to get funneled in right to it.

[robertm]

you are right it is slicker than snot... and what you don't see it the cliff right below in the picture! Luckily it is mercifully short. Vertical Brush has so much to offer... this section reminded my a little bit of Jberg. Steepen it up a bit and add 2000ft of it

[Alpine_Tom]

Hahahah...I remember that exact section of that climb (Lee? Tom? Look familiar?). We had no rope and were stuck monkey hanging through those brances. Beyond that there was some more nasty wet crap, that we luckily bypassed on the way down by sliding down a snowy slab to a 10 or 15 foot drop into a bunch of powder below. No, I'm not kidding.

Man, my devils club scars are starting to itch again, just thinking about it... I guess it hasn't been long enough yet.

This is Lee's photo of the glissade we did:

You can't see the scale properly, but it was a good 10-foot dropoff.

[leejams]

And for all those inclined to try this (flying cliff glissade) make sure you get enough momentum to clear potential moat problems, and throw your ice axe before you land.

[sayjay]

Anyone have an update on the conditions on Whitehorse? Thinking about climbing it this coming weekend via Snow Gulch/glacier route, if weather and snow conditions are right.

 

Josh: Would love the pic you mentioned of the trail up Snow Gulch! It sure would be nice to avoid the 'shwack on the lower reaches...

 

[JoshK]

Yeah, I'll look for a pic.

 

MattP, when was that picture you posted taken? The snow cover is all the way down to the bottom, that's awesome! No wonder it was outstanding!

[mattp]

I believe I took that shot in late April of what I think was a relatively average snow year. Now, Sarah better find your trail, but it shouldn't be too hard --- should it?