[TR] Shuksan - Sulphide Glacier 5/7/2016

[canela]

Trip: Shuksan - Sulphide Glacier

 

Date: 5/7/2016

 

Trip Report:

On Friday after work we packed and left around 8pm. After stuffing ourselves at Taqueria Los Jarritos in Burlington (becoming a tradition now), we registered at the Sedro-Wooley ranger station and got to the Shannon Ridge TH around 11:00pm. There were 5 or so other cars in the parking lot; note: you need a NW Forest pass to park here. After not sleeping very much in the back of the Subaru, we started hiking around 1:30am under a starry sky.

 

The trail was easy to follow; there is one really wet section right away that soaked my trail runners but I left them on the shoe tree (6 other pairs of shoes) when the snow started anyway (~3500') and switched to the new boots. Hiking from 4000' to the ridge was a bit of a mess trying to find the unmarked trail, but following ski tracks was the easiest and there were no major obstacles.

 

We followed the ridge and up to the pass on soft but not slush snow, where it became firmer and easier to walk on once up on the glacier. There was one small crevasse we stepped over somewhere around 5000', and we made it to "camp" (6500') at 5:20am where we watched one party of 2 on the slope above us as we ate breakfast (caffeinated GUs), put on harnesses and rope (not really necessary?), and tried to stop the uncontrollable shivering that overtook me for awhile once I stopped walking. We started again with sunrise 30 minutes later, making our way up firmer but punchier snow, although following in recent footsteps helped an enormous amount (until our friends ahead switched to skiing). My inner leg left started hating me towards the base of the summit pyramid, making for slower going, in addition to solid snow that made me wish we had put on crampons earlier. We got onto the pyramid on the right side, unroped and put on crampons on the path that traversed across to the main gully, then worked our way up solid snow that was nice for tools (in shade) and softer snow which was less comforting (in sun) higher up. The last bit to exit the gully was fairly steep (I heard 60*), but we got there just as the party above us was leaving the summit on their way down. We spent enough time on the summit to eat, put on sunscreen, and take a few photos, but it was gorgeous- blue skies and no wind (around 9:30am).

 

Downclimbing the softer snow was not the best, and there were 3 or 4 other groups climbing up who had skied in while we were on the pyramid. All were extremely kind and enjoying the day- which makes me love the climbing community even more. Back at the base of the pyramid, the snow was super soft, and we plunge-stepped up to our calves to the Hourglass. Our gaiters failed us miserably, and I ended up with piles of snow in and around my boots despite taking multiple breaks to empty the snow and readjust my gaiters. I guess the gaiters just don't work with the new boots? Back at the car later, I took of my socks and easily wringed out quite a bit of water; my feet were not happy on the way down.

 

The descent made me wish I knew how to ski... it was a lot of trudging through soft snow under a merciless sun. It felt as though we were walking through a beautiful but unforgiving white desert in the middle of the day. I put snow in my hat and in my shirt (the best reason to wear a bra ever), which helped, but we each carried only 2L of water so were fairly dehydrated by the time we got back to the cars (thank goodness for a cooler waiting there with IPA). It was a gorgeous day though, and we glissaded when we could, moved through piles of avalanche debris and set off many medium-sized rollers, got off track on the descent through the woods until we found the trail, and marveled at how many tiny frogs of various colors there were on the lower trail as we made our way back to the car. The last mile we were like zombies, but beer, soup + goldfish, and a swim in a chilly but scenic and sunny Baker Lake reinvigorated us for the drive home. Car to car just under 15 hours, including multiple stops to adjust gear and clean out snow from gaiters... and not really sleeping.

 

We stopped at the Wooley Market that my friends started a couple of years ago to get coffee and food (pricey, but good quality and good people)- they also have an outdoor gear shop upstairs now!- and got back to the house by 8pm. We've been wanting to climb Shuksan for awhile and this was definitely a perfect time to do so, before the crevasses open up and with decent snow in the gully. All in all a great first climb of the season.

 

Gear Notes:

Ice axe + tool

2 pickets (unused)

Rope + harness (not needed but used)

Crampons

 

Approach Notes:

Road to TH is clear and dry. Trail between 3500-4500' is a bit hard to follow but follow the ski tracks and you'll be fine.

[JasonG]

Thanks for the update on conditions!

 

Throw some snow in those bottles and drink out of the streams, you'll move way quicker when hydrated, with or without sleep (although that isn't a bad time for spring conditions on foot).

[ilias]

Nice work! Looks like it was a perfect day up there.

[Seraphim]

Nice work!!

 

I'm really interested in climbing this in the next few weeks. Was the Summit Pyramid all snow still? If so, was it pretty firm.

 

Any good spots to just rap down the summit?

 

Thanks!

[canela]

The pyramid gully was all snow, although in the middle you had to go around a rock, but you could go either left or right easily. As for rapping, I've read that you can rap off the summit, but didn't see any tat or anchors... there was an anchor on a rock halfway up the face though just climber's right of the gully on a rock outcrop. We didn't check it out as rapping would have meant sending a lot of crap onto parties below, and downclimbing from there was pretty straight-forward. If anything, rapping off the summit would be most helpful if the snow got too soft, but definitely be wary of other climbers coming up if you do so (maybe avoid completely if anyone is climbing up). The snow went from firm and perfect in the shade to much softer as soon as the sun hit it soon after. Personally I would have tried to ascend and descend (with crampons) by 7 or 8am at the latest. The snow on the glacier and out was very soft, so if you can ski, do so.

[Bigtree]

Climbed it a few years ago in June/similar snow conditions. We buried a picket in a t-slot on the summit and wrapped off that with full length 1/2 ropes (60 m). Worked like a charm.