[TR] Mt. Shuksan- Chimneys 7/17/2005

[eternalX]

Climb: Mt. Shuksan-Chimneys

 

Date of Climb: 7/17/2005

 

Trip Report:

Attempt #2

 

We approached with the ladies on Saturday afternoon, setting up camp at Lake Ann and taking a quick, frigid swim in Lake Ann.

 

Woke up at 4:20 am and on the route by 5. We made the top of the chimneys, and the base of Winnie's Slide by 8 am. In the meantime, the ladies packed up a tent and hiked out (notice how we tied in a climbing trip with time with the gfs - this works well).

 

Winnie's Slide was much easuer then I remember last year. I think we went later in the year when it was a big slab of ice. As of Sunday it was easy, soft snow. Kinda felt like an idiot lugging up two ice screws.

 

At the top of the slide we crossed over the little moraine and went up very hard ice, about 100ft. At that point we roped up and traversed the Upper Curtis to Hell's Highway. It was easy route finding, with little crevase danger. We ran out of gas on Hell's Highway, not making it to the summit pyramid until 11:20, where a group of 15 or so were about to come down the Sulphide Glacier.

 

We were pretty spent and looking at the time, we knew we had to blow off the summit attempt (I had a 10:15 redeye flight to New York that night to make). It sucked, but turned around and started back. THe hike back was brutal. It takes almost as much time to go down as up and we didn't make it back to the lake until 4:15. After quickly packing up another tent, etc we started back on the trail and made it back to the car at 6.

 

We hightailed it home and with a little luck, made my flight. It sucks that I spent the next 5 hours sleeping on a plane, another 45 minutes sleeping in a cab, and then another 2 hours in a hotel and we still didn't summit, but felt pretty good about the trip.

 

Next year, we're doing Sulphide.

 

 

 

Gear Notes:

Used

normal glacier gear

 

Approach Notes:

Everything is in great shape.

[111]

sounds kinda hellish, but overall I am sure the views were good. That area is wonderful. how was the section that you did climb on the route