[TR] Mt. Shuksan - Fisher Chimneys 7/22/2008

[Mark_L]

Trip: Mt. Shuksan - Fisher Chimneys

 

Date: 7/22/2008

 

Trip Report:

On Thursday, July 17, my friend from Boulder, CO, Jim and I hiked from the Austin Pass picnic area up to Lake Ann with the intention of climbing Mt. Shuksan the next day. The trail was still mostly covered with snow and rather than try to follow it and have to cross Swift Creek twice, we stayed on the East side of the valley and eventually came to the only stretch of bare trail which we followed for about a mile before heading up to the Lake.

 

We left camp at about 5:00 the next morning under mostly cloudy skies with hopes that it would clear up and we would get some views. Here is Jim at the beginning of the lower part of the route.

 

The chimneys were mostly snow free except for one section just be fore the lower bivy sites. The rock is reasonably solid in the steep sections.

 

Eventually we exited the chimneys to the edge of the White Salmon Glacier where we roped up and proceeded to climb to the top of Winnie's slide. Jim was curious about whether Winnie really did slide down this section. I couldn't answer that one.

 

After crossing over to the Curtis Glacier and dealing with a couple of snow bridges we climbed up Hell's Highway. It was quite easy going with no visible crevasses near where we walked.

 

 

Another hour of slogging took us to the base of the summit pyramid which was now out of the clouds, briefly. We ate lunch and then scrambled to the top via the central gully which was a poor choice with its loose, drippy rock. We were thinking that we would have been happier on one of the ridges.

 

Eventually we topped out on the summit ridge and were greeted by a fairly recent fecal smear. Brilliant!

 

 

After carefully downclimbing the loose wet summit rocks and backing down a hanging snow patch, we put on our glacier gear for the long, uneventful, though foggy slog back down. The slogging was broken up by some excellent glissades down Hell's Highway and Winnie's Slides. Both of these slopes were quite crevasse free and they were a nice change from all of the plunge stepping that we had been doing.

 

Another couple of hours of downclimbing in the Fisher Chimneys brought us back to our camp at Lake Ann.

 

 

 

While the climbing is all fairly straightforward, the length and the variety make this moderate climb an all day workout in the mountains.

 

The next morning we hiked out and got in some more good glissades including this one right down to the parking lot.

 

 

After changing and enjoying our post trip beers, we headed up the newly plowed road to Artist Point. There is an incredible amount of snow still up there and the highway department must have spent an awful lot of $ to get it open. There are still 30 foot vertical and overhanging snow walls at the parking lot with lots of tourists climbing all over them, seemingly unaware that if they slipped they would go splat on the asphalt 30 feet down.

 

 

Gear Notes:

rope, glacier gear, ice ax and crampons. We did the rock portions unroped but they are well equipped for rappels

 

Approach Notes:

Most of the trail is still snow covered. No snow free camping yet at the lake.

[Otto]

Hey, way to go Mark and Jim, that's a good training run for you guys.

[i_like_sun]

Rad trip guys!!

 

 

[olymand]

Thanks for the report. That route is one of my favorites. I think the bivy sites below winnie's slide are some of the best in the cascades. Were they snow-free during your trip? It was a bit harder carrying bivy gear up the chimney, but the camp was worth it.

[Mark_L]

Yep,

 

The bivy sites at Winnie's Slide were all clear. We just camped at Lake Ann though. It was cloudy most of the time so we didn't get many views anyway.

[burglar]

Sweet trip, Mark. Think I'm heading up there next weekend to do this route. Any suggestions for the approach to the lake? When I attempted this last year in early June snowshoes helped, but we were still sinking in up to our calves. Sounds like by this time the trail should be mostly snow-free. Hoping to avoid walking in plastic boots as much as possible, but also don't want my leathers completely soaked for the chimneys section. Any info would be great!

 

Thanks,

-gc

[Sol]

awesome, i love that route.

there's still so much snow at artist point.

i can't beleive someone smeared shit on the summit of mt shuksan.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Sweet trip, Mark. Think I'm heading up there next weekend to do this route. Any suggestions for the approach to the lake? When I attempted this last year in early June snowshoes helped, but we were still sinking in up to our calves. Sounds like by this time the trail should be mostly snow-free. Hoping to avoid walking in plastic boots as much as possible, but also don't want my leathers completely soaked for the chimneys section. Any info would be great!

 

Thanks,

-gc

 

I climbed the route mid-July in leather boots. there's no need for plastics.

[burglar]

Cool, thanks for the tip on the leathers. That'll save some weight for sure. I assume crampons would still be needed though.

 

Also, having never been up the chimneys, is there room for a 2-person tent? Or bivy space only?

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Cool, thanks for the tip on the leathers. That'll save some weight for sure. I assume crampons would still be needed though.

 

Also, having never been up the chimneys, is there room for a 2-person tent? Or bivy space only?

 

There are nice bivy sites below Winnie's slide. AT least two are big enough for a small 2-person tent. Barring that, there are flat areas on the snow below Winnie's slide, or 100-200 feet below that. You can smooth out the snow with a shovel, or just the edge of a picket. Enjoy!

 

 

[Mark_L]

Burglar,

 

I think that plastic boots are probably overkill any time of the year except maybe winter. You are probably more likely to get your feet wet from the stream crossings than from the snow, although you are sure to have snow for the climb from Swift Creek to lake Ann. Usually by August, even in heavy snow years the snow up high, (like on the glacier) gets very hard packed. Crampons are pretty essential when its like this, but you won't be getting your feet wet. The climbing in the chimneys and on the summit pyramid is not difficult and boots work just fine although some people out there would probably do the whole climb in their low top approach shoes.

 

Mark