G-spotter Posted June 8, 2015 Posted June 8, 2015 A friend did the NEB yesterday. Pocket Glacier is "gone", very little snow on approach. Descent gully and Crossover Pass descent are "very snowy" though. They bivied on summit due to unexpected snow in the gullies. Quote
mthorman Posted June 8, 2015 Posted June 8, 2015 Wow! I can't believe the Pocket Glacier is gone already. It isn't even July!! Looks like Slesse might get a lot of traffic this season! Quote
Alex Posted June 8, 2015 Posted June 8, 2015 I can believe its gone. There was nothing to feed it with this year! Quote
maurop Posted June 9, 2015 Posted June 9, 2015 and with the warm weather, that thing must have just slipped right off. Quote
Kenn Posted June 10, 2015 Posted June 10, 2015 Any more details about how the descent went for your friends? I've never been up there and wondering how the descent would change in "very snowy" conditions. Quote
G-spotter Posted June 10, 2015 Author Posted June 10, 2015 Rapped the gully and postholed squishily in their approach shoes out via Crossover, said it was unpleasant but at least not a scree hop like later in the season Quote
Chai Posted June 25, 2015 Posted June 25, 2015 (edited) G-spotter: Could you please clarify which pocket glacier you're referring to? I'm just looking at photos/topos now... is it the Bypass Glacier? Also, recommendations on whether or not it's reasonable to approach the NEB in this state without crampons would be great. I oviously don't know the mountain, so any advice is much appreciated :-) Thanks! Edited June 25, 2015 by Chai Quote
G-spotter Posted June 25, 2015 Author Posted June 25, 2015 See if you can figure it out with this picture (from June 15th!).... Quote
JasonG Posted June 25, 2015 Posted June 25, 2015 Wow. This is the year for the Slesse casual approach. Quote
Chai Posted June 25, 2015 Posted June 25, 2015 Thanks for the photo! Yup, looks to me like the bypass glacier is out... but then, it also looks like some of the other pocket glaciers are mostly gone, too! Quote
Chai Posted June 28, 2015 Posted June 28, 2015 (edited) A friend and I were on the NEB yesterday (June 27). The gullies on the descent from the summit pyramid are now almost completely dry (any remaining snow is easily avoidable). There was some snow on the way from the scree basin beneath the summit tower to Crossover Ridge (firm enough that we didn't posthole and could kick steps when needed, but soft enough to glissade). Also, there remains a bit of snow beneath the Wooded Stump ("stumpy hill" in McLane's Alpine Select) and on the orange talus field beyond (the photo below gives a vague idea). If you're banking on finding water along the way: there was snow available near the start of the 4th class section below the summit headwall and at the summit. Also, a small note: if you're crossing under what remains of the Bypass Glacier, do be careful. It might be more casual than the usual state of affairs, but the remaining ice is still active. A sizeable chunk collapsed as we were crossing the slabs below, and we would have been in its path had it failed a minute or two later. BTW, since I haven't come across this in a few other trip reports I've seen: There are large cairns adorned with pink flagging tape marking where to leave the talus slope beneath Crossover Peak into the woods, and a flagged trail follows. Eventually, orange reflective markers (nailed to trees) materialize as well. The descent trail is very clearly marked from these cairns, right to the memorial (no bushwhack required; many thanks to the trail-builders!). YMMV, and all that jazz. Edited June 30, 2015 by Chai Quote
G-spotter Posted June 29, 2015 Author Posted June 29, 2015 I heard that SAR got called out on some overdue climbers yesterday on the NEB. Quote
Chai Posted June 30, 2015 Posted June 30, 2015 Yikes, I hope everyone is ok? We saw a team climbing below us and we assumed they'd planned to spend the night on the mountain... but perhaps they ran into trouble. Quote
bstach Posted September 2, 2015 Posted September 2, 2015 Probably heading up Slesse this weekend. Any beta on where last decent water fill up is (assuming nothing on route or summit)? And first water on the descent? Will try to do the Southwest Route descent, but may have to do the Crossover Descent. Any beta on logging road conditions/closures? Thanks Quote
maurop Posted September 2, 2015 Posted September 2, 2015 Was up there on an attempt a week ago.The road is in decent shape if you have a 4x4 and decent skills. HC isn't necessary, but it's nice. There's been more rain recently, but the last water we found on the slabs below the bypass ramps. A small chunk of ice is slowly melting, giving just enough water to fill a bottle in some spots. You'll need other input for water on the descent. Quote
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