Hoosier_JB Posted September 3, 2004 Posted September 3, 2004 Climb: Skuksan -via Sulphide Glacier Date of Climb: 8/30/2004 Trip Report: Climbed Shuksan for the first time on August 31. We were very fortunate on the weather, it was great both Monday and Tuesday and were home by the time it rained Tuesday night. Even better, there was literally NO ONE else up there but us (although about an hour from the car we did pass a group of three headed up). The (near) full moon was also very helpful. I won't lie, our skills are not near those of many here and we had a guide (with all permits etc etc). He is probably known to many here so I will leave him out to protect the innocent. He is a great guy though and his expertise was greatly appreciated. The trip to camp was (is) a fairly easy hike as most know. However, once you leave camp the glacier is VERY broken up. There were at least three times when I thought that a given cravasse was impassable. We did have to wind around several and cross some small and shrinking snow bridges. That is mostly the reason I am posting, just to make folks aware that they need to tread carefully and know what they are doing in heavily cravassed terrain. Otherwise we had a great time. Sunrise was spectacular as was the moonrise the night before. Mountain goats were out. A good trip. Gear Notes: Used crampons and ice axe. An ice screw and/or picket could also be handy. Approach Notes: The approach trail is muddy and slick in spots due to the rain. Quote
Ced Posted September 3, 2004 Posted September 3, 2004 Considering the trip at the end of Sept. or Oct., with the shorter days how long does it take to hike in, and what are the camp sites like? Is there water near by, or were you melting snow? And for summit day is it a short day up & down? Cheers Ced. Quote
Bill_Simpkins Posted September 3, 2004 Posted September 3, 2004 This was one of my first glacier climbs way back when.... Most people in our group were not that experienced. It took 15 hours car to car. I think it took 3-4 hours to the camp part way up the glacier. We screwed around a lot and had bad equipment, heavy packs and the the wrong clothes. I'm sure now the whole thing would take less time. Quote
Hoosier_JB Posted September 3, 2004 Author Posted September 3, 2004 Ced, We took 5 hours to get from the car to camp and we were by no means moving quickly (and I would have prefered faster myself). If it is wet, might take a bit longer since sections of the trial are/weill be slick and muddy but 4 hours to camp is reasonable if you keep moving. Assuming you are camping near the composting toilet at the base of the glacier, around 6000 ft, there are at least 3 good campsites. They are flat, mostly level, have some rock walls that folks have put up. Each is big enough for a 3 person tent. They are near glacier melt running water that we boiled/treated. We did not melt snow. Be aware that the last stretch to the campsites is through a boulder field and the sites are not readily visible until you are pretty close to them. The summit day is not bad. HOWEVER, as I noted, the glacier is broken up so obviously the time will completely depend on how long it takes to find a safe route. With that said, we left camp at 3:30am and were back in camp by 12:30pm. Left camp for the car at 1:30 and were headed for home by 4:30pm. We kept a steady but by no means fast pace. Good luck! Quote
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