[TR] Shuksan- Sulphide Glacier 8/15/2005

[Koolaid]

Climb: Shuksan-Sulphide Glacier

 

Date of Climb: 8/15/2005

 

Trip Report:

...Had one of those climbs that begins with..."Wanna get out this weekend/YES/where?/uh...Buckner, no, Shuksan?/sure, pick you up at 5". We'd been shut out a combined 5 times on this one due to everything, but the weather report called for yellow orbs and delivered. We hit the trail at 8:30 and were at the glacier within a couple hours...

The route is still in great shape, took us a little under 6 hours to reach the summit pyramid. The scrambling gully was clogged with a rappeling party of 9(!) from a popular climbing club I'll refrain from naming. The baking sun and an hour wait had our patience down so we called a halt to thier rappel and climbed on past. The moves through the gulley are easy and straightforward 3-4 class moves, but deadly exposed. We summited 20 minutes later to a near cloudless view. Shared the summit with two cats from Glacier who'd come up the Chimneys. (R&A, awesome meeting the both of you, hopefully we meet again) Spent a solid hour on the summit and wasn't surprised to find the 9 party in the same place. I actually felt bad for some of them, as the (now) four of us scrambled past them in 20 minutes, not kicking so much as a pebble on them. They had been hung out in the blazing heat for hours and had hours to go, I doubted many would care to climb again. It goes w/o saying that clogging a route like that is irresponsible and dangerous at best, glad I wasn't leading that one. We hopped down to the glacier, roped up and were off. We walked in the perfect evening light, spinning in circles at the scenery. It was a perfect day, we'd had the Sulphide to ourselves on a Saturday, spent 9 hours climbing and 11.5 car to car...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Approach Notes:

Route is in great shape. Bring a rap rope if you don't have downclimb skills...

Edited August 16, 2005 by Koolaid

[Einstein]

Climb: Shuksan-Sulphide Glacier

 

Date of Climb: 8/15/2005

 

Trip Report:

so we called a halt to thier rappel and climbed on past. The moves through the gulley are easy and straightforward 3-4 class moves, but deadly exposed.

 

Spent a solid hour on the summit and wasn't surprised to find the 9 party in the same place. I actually felt bad for some of them, as the (now) four of us scrambled past them in 20 minutes, not kicking so much as a pebble on them. They had been hung out in the blazing heat for hours and had hours to go, I doubted many would care to climb again.

 

It goes w/o saying that clogging a route like that is irresponsible and dangerous at best, glad I wasn't leading that one. We hopped down to the glacier, roped up and were off.

 

Hey Wanker

 

I agree the party was too large for the route, that was an honest mistake by the leader. But you weren't in any position to claim superior style or climbing ability.

 

A couple of points to consider before you toss un-informed ****bombs.

 

It would have been irresponsible and dangerous for us to down climb the gulley with the other parties and you ascending. Remember your comment about being "deadly exposed". We chose to rap from the rappel slings that would keep ascending climbers from being exposed to rockfall.

 

We waited at two rap stations while we let another party do two rappels on our ropes so they could descend Fischer Chimney's while it was still early. And then waited for them to clear the base of the gulley while they were in the kill zone.

 

We also waited for several other parties including yours to ascend so we wouldn't expose you to rockfall.

 

We also waited for your unhelmeted redheaded party member to move after he took a completely zoned out 20 minute break at the base of the gulley. How does the sunburned scalp feel now? The sunscreen helmet wouldn't have done much to stop rockfall.

 

We were bivied at the high camp so time was not our major constraint so we had the luxury of being considerate to the other parties by letting them pass.

 

Have a Jonestown Grape Koolaid on me, I'll buy!

[JoshK]

THe Shuksan summit pyramid will be an unadaulterated idiotfest at any point during the high season. Be it from ridiculously large groups, inexperienced "climbers" or just rude people, it isn't someplace I would want to be. Either climb the ridge up to it or do it early or late season (it is great with steep neve in it, like in May!) or just expect it to be a clusterfuck.

[Ireneo_Funes]

[climbher]

There is a low 5th class route on the SE ridge. It starts to the right of the central gully. The first part has some loose rock, but not too bad. Once you are on the top of the ridge is it a great climb. There are two steps on the route that you may want to beley other than that you can simul-climb. It will keep you away from all the loose rock in the central gully. Our group of four climbers did the route the day after you did. We took our time and rapped after everyone else was gone so did not have any rock fall on the way down the gully. Take a bunch of slings, some nuts and perhaps a small cam or two.

 

It sounds like the large group was very considerate. Just to let you know--had you fallen and gotten hurt the large group had the first aid and rescue training and skills to help you.

[Cobra_Commander]

No oversized group is "considerate" no matter how nice they are. It's inconsiderate to take too large of a group on certain routes, period.

[Koolaid]

For the record, said group were in fact a considerate, good natured group that were happy to let us and others go by. Then again, what else can you do when you've chosen to tie up a route with 9 people, which is my only qualm...you guys were part of an organization with a reputable enough name to avoid "leader mistakes" like that. As in, so you don't HAVE to wait for hours on end so you can let people by. But whatever, I'm not the keeper of the hills and I'm purposefully not slandering your club by name, everyone should be a better person for having spent a perfect day like that on the summit ... You forget your whole party was zoned out directly underneath the very ropes you were rapping on, however, point taken.

 

JoshK is right though, I was amazed there was only as many people as there were after reading the NPS trail reports of 40+ people on the route the other week. BTW, everytime I yell KOOLAID!!!, Einstein's mama comes bustin' through the wall.... - now can't we all just, you know...get along????

Edited August 16, 2005 by Koolaid

[wolfs]

Many years ago a certain popular climbing club used to take parties of TWELVE up Shuksan. I was on such a trip, from Fisher Chimneys side, and the time taken to get skittish folks up and down both the Chimneys and the pyramid resulted in one of the larger epics timewise I have ever been involved with in the mountains (fortunately no one got hurt, but no one got back to the cars before 3 AM the next day either ...)

The pyramid is almost one of those places where I wish there was a deliberately Park-established rap route with fixed anchors that didn't funnel into the ascent gully. There would be if this was the Alps and not an American wilderness area, but then if it were the Alps there'd also be a tram from Baker Lake to the base, and a via ferrata to the summit.

[Mauri]

Did you get any pictures of the teminus of the sulphide glacier. After all the glacier is the highlight. Mauri

[Blake]

Climb: Shuksan-Sulphide Glacier

 

Date of Climb: 8/15/2005

 

Trip Report:

so we called a halt to thier rappel and climbed on past. The moves through the gulley are easy and straightforward 3-4 class moves, but deadly exposed.

 

Spent a solid hour on the summit and wasn't surprised to find the 9 party in the same place. I actually felt bad for some of them, as the (now) four of us scrambled past them in 20 minutes, not kicking so much as a pebble on them. They had been hung out in the blazing heat for hours and had hours to go, I doubted many would care to climb again.

 

It goes w/o saying that clogging a route like that is irresponsible and dangerous at best, glad I wasn't leading that one. We hopped down to the glacier, roped up and were off.

 

Hey Wanker

 

I agree the party was too large for the route, that was an honest mistake by the leader. But you weren't in any position to claim superior style or climbing ability.

 

A couple of points to consider before you toss un-informed ****bombs.

 

It would have been irresponsible and dangerous for us to down climb the gulley with the other parties and you ascending. Remember your comment about being "deadly exposed". We chose to rap from the rappel slings that would keep ascending climbers from being exposed to rockfall.

 

We waited at two rap stations while we let another party do two rappels on our ropes so they could descend Fischer Chimney's while it was still early. And then waited for them to clear the base of the gulley while they were in the kill zone.

 

We also waited for several other parties including yours to ascend so we wouldn't expose you to rockfall.

 

We also waited for your unhelmeted redheaded party member to move after he took a completely zoned out 20 minute break at the base of the gulley. How does the sunburned scalp feel now? The sunscreen helmet wouldn't have done much to stop rockfall.

 

We were bivied at the high camp so time was not our major constraint so we had the luxury of being considerate to the other parties by letting them pass.

 

Have a Jonestown Grape Koolaid on me, I'll buy!

 

 

 

What kind of trundle-intensive downclimbing are you doing? I think you'd knock more stuff off when rappelling, because you can't control what the ropes do once you start tugging.

[Koolaid]

 

 

 

Edited August 18, 2005 by Koolaid