[TR] Shuksan - Fisher Chimneys 7/12/2008-7/13/2008

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Trip: Shuksan - Fisher Chimneys

 

Date: 7/12/2008 - 7/13/2008

 

Trip Report:

A few friends and I climbed Shuksan this weekend. We set off at about 10 am from the parking lot just below the Lake Ann TH (the road is gated). The trail is mostly snow-covered, and the going is a lot harder than when the trail is melted out. It was quite warm (freezing level around 14K that day).

 

 

Our plan was to camp just below Winnie's Slide. It took us about 7 hours to get there with full packs, and we were all pretty tired considering the heat and hard-going on the approach.

 

Here's the view from near Lake Ann:

 

Ascending Talus slopes above Lake Ann:

 

The chimneys were mostly snow-free. You could completely avoid snow by staying just to climber's left of the one patch that we encountered:

 

There are great bivy sites on the rocks just below Winnie's Slide. There is also some flat snow there. No running water or pools, though. Views were awesome, as was sunset:

 

We awoke at 4 am hoping to beat the crowds at the summit pyramid and were on trail by 5:15 am. Winnie's Slide was soft as it never got cold that night. The Upper Curtis was firmer with better cramponing. We opted to traverse left as far as possible inside the entrance to Hell's Highway and ascended to the Sulphide at the last possible place. The slope was moderate, the snow firm and a little icy, and the cramponing great.

 

The sun had been up quite a while, but the Sulphide was nice and firm, with an icy crust. The slogging up these gentle slopes was easy. However, we failed to beat the crowds. It was the cluster-f that you would expect on a beautiful day on Shuksan. So we split off - some opting for the gulley, others for the ridge on the right. Both were crowded; I chose the gulley. There was a snow-ramp going part way up to the gulley, with one steep bit. We waited about 30-40 minutes for a large group to thin out, then ascended to the first rock ledge, unroped, and took off crampons. A picket or two might have been a good idea on this last bit, but it was pretty secure snow. We then scrambled up. There was very little snow in the gulley, and it could be mostly avoided.

 

We summitted at about 9:15 and met the rest of our team at the top.

 

The views were great and we hung out for about 45 minutes. It was cold and windy, however.

 

We all downclimbed the gully, which was fun and exciting. We then took a food break, and hustled down to Hell's Highway.

 

 

This time we stayed high, and descended the steep slope right at the entrance:

 

 

We were back at camp at about 1:30. We relaxed and packed and were on our way by 2:40. The hike out was slow and hard going. We were not back to the cars until about 8:40. Several of us were feeling pretty beat and quite hungry - must... have... burgers ... and beer... Unfortunately, the restaurants were closed in Glacier so we just had fast food in Bellingham. Somehow we didn't crash our cars and drove home safely.

 

 

Gear Notes:

Ice axe, crampons, a couple pickets.

 

Approach Notes:

Road gated at parking lot 1/2 mile or so below Lake Ann TH. Trail almost completely snow-covered to Lake Ann.

[Lisa_D]

way to get it. I was on the attempt last summer Sometime I'll have to go back and climb the thing.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

way to get it this time. I think I was on the attempt last summer

 

yep

[esugi]

Super cool. I want to do this route this summer to familiarize myself with Fisher-Chimneys route for the descent (up NF, down Fisher-Chimneys). From the pictures and all the snow, I'll wait few more weeks though! Looking for partners...any interest from anyone?

[Clarence]

Cool! It's almost as if I was there.

[northvanclimber]

I'll second that the approach trail is largely unusable due to snow cover. However, the boot track that you and everyone left behind made a great trail for my buddy and i to follow on sunday. it was also impossible to miss the entrance to the correct chimney due to the substancial boot track! amazingly, all the tracks on the approach had completely melted out by monday afternoon...

[northvanclimber]

oh, and somehow an ice screw (10cm, new-style BD) popped off my harness, likely while i was descending the summit pyrimid . if anyone finds it and wants to return it to it's rightful owner, just PM me. otherwise, it's booty for the next team to head up there...

[waterboy]

Yes it was a fun climb. Winnie's slide was not so bad once you're on it and then it looked really easy as that older Swedish gentleman did a standing glissade the entire way down!

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Yes it was a fun climb. Winnie's slide was not so bad once you're on it and then it looked really easy as that older Swedish gentleman did a standing glissade the entire way down!

 

That was the most impressive standing glissade I have ever seen.

 

[Stefan]

thanks for sharing. great pics!

 

that gully gives me the creeps. I wasn't there when it happened, but a friend of mine did a tumble in that gully there and broke his hip.