[TR] Mount Buckner - North Face 7/4/2016

[pugetgold]

Trip: Mount Buckner - North Face

 

Date: 7/4/2016

 

Trip Report:

Climbed Buckner's North Face as a party of three Sunday-Monday July 3 and 4. Route is in very good shape, with the bergschrund/moat easily passable on the far left. Snow was firm, which enabled some step-kicking lower down, but from about 8600' (just below where the North couloir enters) to near the summit it was mostly front pointing or french technique.

 

(By contrast, the North couloir route did not look so good - messy moat at the bottom and from the top looked mostly dry but for some thin brittle ice covering a few rocks.)

 

Visibility while on route was more-or-less confined to the route itself, but for some beautiful fleeting views of Ripsaw Ridge and Boston Glacier. From the summit, the descent to the southwest was almost entirely snow (some of it also quite firm higher up, which we backed down with two axes). On descent we had limited visibility, with increasing high winds and snow and, ultimately high winds and rain. Delightful.

 

The gully at about 6400' out of Horseshoe basin, used to gain Sahale Arm, was easy to spot, both because it is just above the small flat bench/knob at 6400' that is prominent on the USGS quad, but also because it was full of snow and appeared like an obvious way up. The 3rd/4th class rock scramble just above that was made more difficult by the ~inch of snow that had just fallen.

 

Gear Notes:

Took three pickets and used all three in the steep section above the bergschrund. Could have used more if we had them, but we all felt comfortable given the conditions. Took two ice screws and didn't use them. Each climber had one standard axe and one tool. One 30 m rope for the three of us.

 

Approach Notes:

We approached up Boston Basin, via the Quien Sabe glacier and then via the Boston-Sahale col, climbing partway and then traversing Boston peak to access the Boston glacier up high (as in Nelson/Potterfield volume I). That glacier has a bergschrund up high on Boston peak (just below the point where we accessed it) that we avoided by downclimbing a rib of rock to skiers right. After crossing the glacier (most crevasses still strongly bridged), we camped on a small flat spot on the glacier just below and west of the North Face route. Stunning evening view of Forbidden and Logan.

Edited July 5, 2016 by pugetgold