sash Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Trip: Mt. Buckner - North Face (Approached via Sahale Glacier) Date: 7/16/2011 Trip Report: In short, this route is very much in. We didn't encounter any significant issues and in fact were rather lucky - we didn't get rained on (much), and someone reached the summit from the south so we could follow their tracks down through the clouds that lingered on the summit all day. He had also picked up Alex's camera down at the Sahale arm where Alex had dropped it on Saturday. We camped at one of the great bivy spots at the base of the Sahale Glacier and started up to Sahale at ~5 a.m. After taking a few steps up the rocky summit to Sahale, we opted to keep crampons on and go around right (staying on snow). The trip over to the Boston Glacier went better than expected, but definitely knocked a few rocks loose. We roped up for the Boston Glacier and didn't have any issues during the traverse. We had intended to swing leads after using one picket per rope length (we brought 3), but Alex used a combination of pickets and rock gear so that we never needed to swing leads. We went right over the bergschrund in the middle, where a low-consequences, surmountable 3-foot gap presented itself. Swinging left around some rocks might be the easier way to go. The snow was a bit softer than optimal, but I really won't complain. Horseshoe basin is well filled-in and a direct line across to the snow gully exit went smoothly. There's about as much snow there as there was when I was there last year (June 26, 2010). Approximate timeline 5:30 - leave TH 9:05 p.m. - arrive camp at Sahale Glacier 10:30 Zzzzz 4 a.m. - alarm goes off 5 - leave camp 7:10 - Boston Glacier 7:30 - start across Boston Glacier 9:10 - base of North Face 9:30 - start up North Face 11:15 - summit 11:45 - start down from summit 1 p.m. - other side of Horseshoe Basin 2 p.m. - Back at camp 2:45 - start down from camp 5:10 - back at car Pictures: Gear Notes: - Used 2 tools, probably would have been fine with one - Brought 3 pickets, used 2 - Used 3 cams in the 0.5-1 range. - 1 nut - 60m half rope - Waterproof camera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devin27 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Cool photos Was thinking of heading there this weekend to tag Sahale, Buckner(south side) and Horseshoe. How was the traverse across Horseshoe basin on your way back to Sahale Glacier? Is the snow pretty consolidated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Craig Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Thanks for the TR. About to head that way my next days off from the Stehekin (south side) of cascade pass. Enough snow I almost want to lug my skis the 24 miles just to cross that glacier and ski onto horseshoe basin. Could you tell if the 'shrund onto the N. Face couloir is crossable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.