Boston Glacier/Sharkfin Col Rap

[Owen]

Has anyone seen the Boston Glacier conditions in the last few days. Is it possible to rap with one rope from Sharkfin Col as per N. Ridge route? Thankyou for feed back.

[Cpt.Caveman]

I dont know about one rope but rumors persist about a 4th class bypass to the left and I saw it first hand a bout 2 weeks ago. It might be too melted now. I thin it is an early season deal. Snow finger to the left and across rotten rock. Obvious if you are headin there. Good luck.

[Pencil_Pusher]

I don't remember even though I just saw it on the 23rd. I think the snow wasn't broken up on that finger but...foggy memory.

Horseflies abound from parking lot to Cascade Pass to 6000. Running water was plentiful all the way up to the 7500ft camp (via Sahale Arm), on the approach to Buckner, and on the descent. Nice toilet too. Those little critters are smart, so bury your food well if you leave some behind.

The N Face of Buckner was just a few picket placements, especially in the soft snow. The last 200ft was 1-2ft of soft snow over ice, so maybe in a couple of weeks you can justify the ice screws but we didn't need them. In fact, we read a trip report of one crew that went the whole way without a picket placement... I think they went on the 20th.

One other thing, the snow may be melted out after ascending past the 6400ft mark on your return, somewhere around 6800ft I'd guess.

[Juan]

Owen:

 

I contributed to a thread on this sometime in the past, but have no idea where it is. So, here it is again. Skip the Sharkfin Col. When you get to the point where you would walk to the base of the Sharkfin Col, go to the right and up the gully that is maybe 100 yds. right of the start of the Sharkfin Col. It is obvious. The gully should have snow in it still, and angles up and right. Climb this for maybe five to ten minutes, but not to the top. Part way up you will see a weakness up and to the left. Follow this to a notch. I remember the rock in the weakness looking kind of grey. It's just scrambling. At the notch you will find slings. Maybe old ones, so take a piece (maybe 6') to leave if necessary. Short rap to snow finger on other side. Way faster than Sharkfin Col, no 5.7 move, and only one rope required (we had a 50m 9mm and were headed to N. Ridge of Forbidden). This is the way to go. Nelson told us about it, and it worked great and saved time and energy. IF you get lost, you can always line up and wait your turn at Sharkfin Col.

 

Good luck and have fun,

 

John Sharp

[Nelly]

The gulley Juan mentions is a good option, if it has snow in it. We pursued this option a few years ago when the gulley was free of snow - down right scary (only for a short section though!).

[sverdina]

Have you considered simply traversing the East side of Boston peak from the Boston-Sahale col? Going this way, you won't need any rock pro or do any raps. The going is somewhat loose class 4 scrambling but shouldn't pose too much of a problem.

 

If the N. face of Buckner is your objective, consider going up over Sahale via Sahale arm. That way you will return to the Cascade pass parking area after gaining the arm on the return leg of your trip.

[robertm]

You lose too much elevation going around Boston.

[Ben]

The gully Juan mentions worked perfectly 10 days ago. His directions are right on. Look for greyish rock about 2/3 of the way up. When we were there, it was steepish snow up to the rock and then easy scrambling the the (small) notch. The rappel point is a slightly wobbly chockstone in the notch, but good by Cascades standards. From there, its only a single rope rap to the glacier. Because there was still a good snowbridge to the glacier when we were there, we actually just downclimbed. We made up about a half hour's time on a party that was ahead of us (and who elected to go the over the standard way). I've been over both ways, and the alternate is definitely better/faster. It saves you the hassle of taking two ropes too...

[Juan]

I paid Ben to say that. =;-)

 

As to the above comment about there being snow in the gully, I'm sure it is harder when dry. When we used it to get to Boston Glacier it was early Aug., and still had plenty of snow. So, should be fine now and for the next few weeks in any event.

 

John

[Owen]

Thankyou all for the clean Beta, it will help dispell the angst during the six hour drive.

[DonkeyBoy]

Owen's partner on N. Ridge of Forbidden (initial post) says thanks for the informative and civilized beta. We'll check out the gulley instead of the col. The east side of Boston also sounds good. Thanks again.

[Juan]

So what are you going to climb once you are over there?

[MountainMan]

quote:

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Originally posted by robertm:

You lose too much elevation going around Boston.

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Lose too much elevation for what? If you want to drop onto the Boston Glacier, you have to descend even further than the elevation you'd be at if you traversed Boston Peak. Traversing Boston Peak is a nice way to put you onto the Boston Glacier.