Mt. Shuksan/Suffer Mountain

[boonecounty]

Climbed N. Face of shuksan on 6/22 car to car in way to long. I got suckered by all this talk of the bushwack free approach from several friends along the cat track. Well having never been to the ski resort before I did not find the cat track and we were inside a cloud so visibility sucked. Still did alright by staying high and finally coming down in a crazy bushwack to the valley. Got to the base of the face at 7am. My friend Corey had just flown out from Columbia Missouri and had gotten shit for sleep in two days. We boogied up the face in the steps kicked by three climbers. It is sloppy/slushy and not that great as of right now. Reached the col up top at 8400ft at 12pm. Let the suffering begin in earnest. After a wrong turn we headed down the mountain and everything was good until we hit the white slushee glacier. Snow conditions were so bad we were blowing steps left and right. I was waiting for the avalanche to sweep the entire face. Finally after running a few belays and descending some steep stuff we finally found some trucks and started postholing down. Near the bottom there is a waterfall and we were thinking about glissadeing the tongue of the glacer down when a large avalanche started by icefall swept that descent clean. We jumped behind rocks and got bombarded by ice chunks. We then flew down the water fall. We descended the snow and headed through the bottom of the valley. Mass suffering ensued. We had noticed a clear cut heading up the valley and into the ski resort. We found the clear cut and ascended from 2800ft to 4000ft and the top of the ridge. We arrived back at my RV at 2am, exactly 24 hours after leaving. Shit happens!!!

[payaso]

If you got back to your RV and your wife had up and left ya, and yer dog up an died you'd have a hell of a country-western song.

[Noway]

Impressive, what's the name of that movie again?

[tobytortorelli]

 

 

[ 06-28-2002, 09:13 AM: Message edited by: tobytortorelli ]

[Norman_Clyde]

All those TRs about the easy bushwack suckered me too, except by now I know not to take any Cascade bushwack approach for granted-- unless I take for granted that I will be scratched up in a thicket of thorn bushes. I don't know what species of bush we fought through in the valley-- the Devil's Club was higher up, on the far slope-- but the experience has made for all sorts of comments this week referring to my scratched hands: "Are you a gardener?" "Did you get in a fight with your cat?" etc. I guess I'm glad we decided not to posthole up the White Salmon and down again in the heat of the day.

[Dru]

There is no bush on the N face of Shuksan approach if you go the correct way. Send $20 for details.

[spaceshot]

Suffer!! I'm with dru on this one you all missed the snowy highway to the base of that route (details only $15). Did the face on wed. though a little soft in places, it was worth the fine mixed conditions on the summit pyramid. Do not fear the slush.

[Skisports]

I will send RD for a bush free bushwack for 10 $

[greenfork]

He said bush... heh heh hhhehh....

[Crackhead]

I soloed the sulphide on Monday with perfect conditions! I got to the summit pyramid right as the sun was hitting it, but the central gulley was still frozen solid. FUN 180' of 5th class ice to the top. Rapped off the pyramid to the slushy east. Then I rode my splitboard down for a kick ass day. 11 hours car to car at a moderate pace. Hardly a soul in sight... just me and the ravens

[freeclimb9]

let the sufferfest continue, eh?

I spent the last week sipping cold beer and frozen rum beverages under a tropical sun. There wasn't any slush except for in the glass. Oh well. Chatatcha later.