[TR] Sahale Peak - Quien Sabe Glacier Direct Route 7/6/2015

[Nika Toce]

Trip: Sahale Peak - Quien Sabe Glacier Direct Route

 

Date: 7/6/2015

 

Trip Report:

We slept at the trailhead for Boston Basin, and awoke in the morning to the monolithic figure of Johannesberg Mountain across the valley from us. The trailhead is a pullout that could park 6-8 vehicles on the left side of the road, just past the 22 mile marker. Sahale wasn’t visible from where we parked. We started on the trail to Boston Basin at 6:20 in the morning.

 

This is the map from at the beginning of the trailhead. We followed the route up to the lower bivy area and headed straight up from there:

 

The first mile or so of the trail is relatively good and has an easy pitch. And then it becomes what you’d expect of any climber’s trail. It is overgrown with vegetation, there were many downed trees, the ground is extremely dry, the pitch is steep, and the footing is loose. To be fair, it is easily discernable, and, while not maintained, was easier going than having to create your own trail. We were grateful to be heading up in the cool morning air. The trail crosses 5 streams, the last of which could easily disappear in late season conditions. Higher up, the going became less difficult as we entered an older forest of large pine trees. We came out of the trees into Boston Basin.

 

Entering Boston Basin:

 

Once we came to the top of the tree line, we continued to follow the moraine up and slightly to the right. We opted for crossing the water into the middle of the cirque and climbing the slab instead of continuing on the loose and unstable footing offered by the moraine. The slab was super fun to cruise up, offering stable footing, breathtaking views, interesting plants, and the occasional boulder field or stream crossing to navigate.

 

Finding our way up through the streams flowing over the slab:

 

We reached the base of the Quien Sabe Glacier at 9:45 am, and enjoyed a leisurely lunch while checking out the glacier and deciding which route we wanted to take. Because of our ascent route up Boston Basin, we came up pretty much right under Sahale Peak. Rather than traverse across the basin, ascending under Sharkfin Tower and traversing back across the more gradual route to the Boston-Sahale col, we opted on the steep and direct route. The snow was soft, but it was possible to kick good steps.

 

The traditional route up the Quien Sabe Glacier ascends up under Sharkfin Tower, on the far side of the basin from where we were.

 

We opted for the steeper direct route in the middle of this picture:

 

We roped up and put crampons on at the beginning of the glacier. I would do this again, as the least stable of the snow bridges we crossed we low down on the glacier and the crampons made traction possible on the snow, which was soft in places and icy in others. We climbed up steeply between the outer edges of the rock fall from the tower on the right and the beginning of a crevasse on the left.

 

Crevasses on the Quien Sabe glacier:

 

Once we crested the first steep section of the glacier the pitch mellows, and we had to work our way through 3 different crevasses before reaching the final steep pitch of the glacier. I’d estimate the steepest pitch we climbed at 35 degrees.

 

We reached the top of the Boston-Sahale col at 11:45 am. Getting onto the rock from the glacier was a piece of cake. We ditched our crampons and ice axes, pulled out a few pieces of rock pro and started the traverse towards Sahale Peak. The snow cap we crossed was pretty overhung but stable. After that, there was one short, steep section of snow to climb, and then it was all rock to the summit.

 

This is the traverse to the summit from the top of the col:

 

Jeff on the snow cap we along the ridgeline. This was pretty badly overhung, but still solid and it felt safe to cross:

 

The scramble to the summit is classified as class 3-4. I would put it much more firmly to the class 4 side of things. My husband is the glacier expert, I do more rock, and he mentioned he wouldn’t have felt safe without the rock pro I set on the way up.

 

The final section of rock before reaching the summit of Sahale Peak:

 

The summit of Sahale is unmistakable… Climb to the highest point possible. Look for the rappel station… you’re there. The marker for Sahale Peak is on top of the rappel station. We reached the summit at 12:45pm.

 

Both of the rappel rings set up face Sahale Arm, and were not intended for use to rappel down to the Sahale-Boston col, and there are cracks in the direction of the col that could easily pinch a rope if you’re not careful. One of the rings was on enough material that it reached around the boulder it was on, and we were able to get a clean shot with the rope up and over a large boulder. A single rappel with a 60m rope brought us down to a solid ledge that we took back to the ridge.

 

Rappelling back down to the ridgeline:

 

The traverse to Boston:

 

Travel down the glacier was fairly uneventful. We set pickets for the steepest of the sections traveling between the crevasses. I would highly recommend bringing snow pro as the crevasses on Quien Sabe were close to each other, deep and plentiful.

 

This is the view of the Quien Sabe glacier from the top of the ridge:

 

Once off the glacier the descent was straightforward. We opted, once again, to head down the slab until we neared the tree line, and then crossed over to the moraine, which descends into the forest. The trail was hot and dusty on the way down, but each step brought us closer to the cold beer in the car, and to taking off our hiking boots.

 

Jeff picking his way down the slab through the streams:

 

This was the amazing view from Boston Basin with Johannesberg Mountain in the background. The moraine that we followed back to the climber's trail is visible in this picture right below Joberg:

 

It was a great day in the Cascade Country Club!

Total time: 11 Hours 40 minutes

 

Gear Notes:

We brought and used all of the following: crampons, 60m rope, ice axes, 2 pickets, small rock rack.

[Mikey6549]

That's so cool ! Thanks for sharing