It all started with a rare sunny
forecast in early February. A high
pressure system was moving into Washington and great weather and stable snow
was on the horizon. These were the perfect
conditions for a grand adventure, and all I needed was a partner in crime.
I emailed my friend Kevin, who I
met while working at Marmot Mountain Works, to see if he was interested in
getting out. His response was a
resounding yes! Now, all we needed was a
plan. Since I’m never short of ideas and Kevin is new to Washington, I offered
to give it some thought and run a couple possibilities past my friend Jerry,
who always has solid recommendations.
Kevin and I wound up setting our
sights on Eldorado Peak in the North Cascades.
The North Cascades are one of my favorite parts of Washington, and I was
excited to show them off to Kevin. I
knew it would be love at first sight!
Maps were obtained, the route description was scanned, and crevasse
rescue skills were practiced. We were
ready!
After a full day at Marmot on
Saturday, I met Kevin at the Canyon Park P&R in Bothell just before 7
PM. We loaded my gear into Kevin’s Pathfinder
and made a beeline for Chuckwagon Diner in Everett, recommended by one of
Kevin’s coworkers. Our first order of
business was ½ pound burgers, fries, and a chocolate peanut butter milkshake. Delicious.
The real adventure could now begin.
We left Chuckwagon bound for the
notorious Cascade River Road, off Highway 20 in Marblemount. The Eldorado Trailhead is about 20 miles up
Cascade River Road. I had checked road
conditions on the North Cascades National Park website earlier in the week and
was confident we’d be able to drive all the way to the trailhead. Wrong!
We ran into snow almost immediately after turning off Highway 20. We were able to make it about 6 miles up the
road before Kevin deemed it impassable.
We were lucky to be able to turn around.
After making it back to Highway
20 and apologizing profusely to Kevin who took everything in stride, we
considered our options. Although we
didn’t have any other route beta or maps, we were nowhere close to giving
up. After a brief discussion, we made
the decision to head for the Sulphide Glacier on Mt. Shuksan. I had been on Shuksan a couple Februarys ago
with Joe and Kyle when there hadn’t been enough snow to skin from the car, so I
was optimistic we’d be able to make it to the trailhead. While Kevin drove, I jotted down the route
description for the Sulphide Glacier from summitpost.com and got us pumped up
with the Beach Boys. It was probably
about midnight, and Plan B was officially on.
It was Shuksan or bust!
Shuksan is also located off
Highway 20, west of the turn-off for Cascade River Road, so it should have been
a fairly quick jaunt to our new objective.
However, I somehow confused the trailheads for Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan
and thought we needed to drive all the way back to I5 and up to
Bellingham. Wrong again! As we were pulling into Bellingham and Kevin
was asking where to exit, I realized my mistake. We had driven well over an hour past the turn
for Shuksan, and it was after 1 AM. Our ski
adventure was turning into a crazy drive around the state of Washington in the
middle of the night. Once more, I
resorted to apologizing profusely, and again, Kevin took the whole debacle in
stride.
We pulled off I5 in Bellingham to
turn around, and I took the wheel so Kevin could have a break. To keep me awake, Kevin started giving me a rundown
on Mormon history. As informative as he
was, our conversation seems almost dreamlike now. I can only recall a few sound bites about
early times in New York, some guy named Joe, and a department store in
Utah. We will definitely have to revisit
this subject later.
We finally made it back to
Highway 20 and headed through the towns of Burlington and Sedro-Woolley. I knew there was a ranger station in
Sedro-Woolley where Shuksan climbers were supposed to register. Of course, finding the ranger station at 2 AM
proved challenging even though it is right beside the highway. I would have been tempted to blow off the check-in,
but I wasn’t sure how much farther we needed to drive on Highway 20 before the
Shuksan turn-off, and I was hoping there would be a map posted outside the
building. After a little backtracking
through the deserted streets of Sedro-Woolley, we found the ranger station. We signed in, and fortunately, there was a
map outside indicating that we had 16 miles of driving before Baker Lake Road,
the turn-off for Shuksan. We were
making progress!
Back on the road, we crossed our
fingers we’d be able to drive all the way to the trailhead. Regardless, the plan was to get as far as we
could and start skinning. We cruised the
16 miles to Baker Lake Road and another 23 to Shannon Creek Campground. From Shannon Creek Campground, we were supposed
to turn off Baker Lake Road and drive Forest Service Road 1152 to the
trailhead. Needless to say, Road 1152
was completely snowed in. We were forced
to park 6 miles from the trailhead for a climb that is a big day under normal circumstances.
It was a beautiful night, and we
made good time skinning up the road in the moonlight. There were many down trees which we had to
climb over, so our skis were off and on quite a few times. Although we were pretty efficient with the
transitions, we knew we’d be cursing the trees on the return. About 2 miles from the trailhead, we stumbled
upon a red Ford Focus buried under snow in the middle of the road. It had apparently become stuck during the big
January storm. It was an eerie site in our
tired states of mind, and we felt sorry for the poor souls who had been forced
to abandon their car in the snow.
We reached the trailhead a little
over two hours after we left the car and each enjoyed a donut as the sky began
to brighten. It felt good to get to the
trailhead, and I could hardly wait for the sun to come up. During the skin along the road, I had broken
the trip down into mini-goals, and reaching the trailhead was goal one. My next goal was Shannon Ridge, where we
would get our first view of Baker.
After leaving the trailhead, we
followed a logging road that meandered across a number of streams. The streams were quite annoying to negotiate,
and we wound up removing our skis at times and crossing our fingers that snow
bridges would hold at others. Initially,
I was a bit worried that the trail was going to be difficult to follow, and we
talked about the fact that we were venturing out without a map. However, the trail soon became straightforward,
and our concerns were alleviated.
Furthermore, the weather was perfect, and I was confident I remembered
the entire route beyond Shannon Ridge.
We were both feeling the effects
of no sleep at this point, and we skinned along the trail in a tired stupor.
The spectacular peaks around us were starting to get morning sun and they
hinted at what was to come, but it was hard to stay motivated slogging through
the trees. I kept reminding myself to
keep my eye on the prize, as my mom would say.
I knew the prize would be fantastic if we were willing to work for it.
We finally reached the end of the
trail and started skinning more steeply uphill through virgin forest toward
Shannon Ridge. At some point, we stopped
for a much needed trail mix boost, and I polished off a second donut. After our break, it wasn’t long before we
were on Shannon Ridge. I was happy! While we gained the ridge in a spot that was
fairly treed and our views of Baker were obstructed, I knew the route was only
going to get better. Before heading to
the right along the ridge, we memorized our elevation so we would know where to
cut down on the descent.
The skinning along Shannon Ridge
was mellow, and we were able to catch glimpses of Baker off to our left. Eventually, the ridge opened up, and we were
rewarded with terrific views of Baker.
We could also see a notch above an open slope in front of us. This notch was my next objective. We switch-backed up the open slope, admiring
the avalanche activity that had occurred following our last storm cycle. We could see massive crowns on many slopes in
the area, and we skinned directly past a deep fracture that hadn’t slid.
Once we reached the notch, we
took a break and I ate my first peanut butter and nutella sandwich of the day. I knew the notch was the point where we would
either commit to the ascent or bail.
From the notch, we needed to make a slightly exposed traverse, staying
just below a cliff band. The traverse
isn’t nearly as steep as it appears, but it looks intimidating from the notch
and there are cliffs below. I recalled
disliking it on my trip two years earlier.
While the sun was warm and it was
tempting to take naps, Kevin and I weren’t ready to throw in the towel. The summit push was on! I donned my ice axe, and we knocked out the
traverse without any trouble. The snow
was soft, and it was much easier than I remembered. Goal four?
Done.
Beyond the traverse, the slope widened
to the base of the Sulphide Glacier. The
views to the south were priceless. We
could see row after row of snowy mountains, all the way to Mt. Rainier. The skinning was easy at this point, and
though Shuksan’s summit pyramid wasn’t visible yet, I knew we’d see it
soon.
Just below the ridge I had
previously camped on (my next objective), I stopped so that Kevin and I could
regroup. The Sulphide Glacier is a
moderate glacier, and we expected it to be very filled in given the time of
year. Roping up is definitely optional
in February. However, Kevin and I were
carrying all our glacier gear and we had practiced crevasse rescue in
preparation for the Eldorado trip, so we played it super safe and tied in. Not to mention the fact that I always find roped
glacier travel a lot of fun!
As we continued skinning up the glacier,
the scenery got better and better. The
route eventually steepened and then flattened out, and the summit pyramid came
into view. Shuksan’s summit pyramid is
truly stunning. It is also super
intimidating, and it was less filled in with snow than on my last trip. To the south and west, we could see the
Olympic Mountains, Puget Sound, and the San Juan Islands. To our surprise, we could also see three skiers
just below the summit pyramid.
By now, it was growing late in
the afternoon, and we knew our chances of summiting were dwindling. However, it was motivating to see the
climbers ahead! As much as I love remote
climbs where I’m all alone, it’s sometimes reassuring to know I’m not the only
crazy fool out there. We were also
curious to find out which route they had ascended, as we knew they hadn’t been
on the Sulphide.
We kicked it into high gear,
eager to reach the base of the pyramid.
The route flattened some more, passing through a gigantic field which
was my last goal before the pyramid. I
remembered leaving Kyle there basking in the sun while Joe and I continued
on. Kevin and I could see two of the people
ahead of us ascending the pyramid while the third waited at the bottom. After a bit more climbing, we finally reached
the base of the pyramid. It was probably
about 4:30, nearly 13 hours after leaving the car.
I ate my third peanut butter and nutella
sandwich of the day as we chatted with our new friend who was waiting nearby
for his partners. They had come up the
White Salmon Glacier. Kevin and I also
discussed our plan. We were still
feeling strong, but we were running out of daylight. Getting up the pyramid would have been
doable, but we knew descending it in the dark would be dicey. After some deliberation, we made the prudent
call to start heading down.
It was disappointing to turn
around so close to the summit, especially after pushing against the odds all
day. We were also in nearly the same location
Joe and I had been in when we bailed to rejoin Kyle two years before. Defeat twice in the same place is extra
frustrating. However, I know we made
the right call given the time of day. Any
weekend on Shuksan is a gift, and I’m already looking forward to trying it
again.
Decision made, we packed up the
rope, de-skinned, and pointed ‘em down, just as alpenglow was hitting the
surrounding peaks. Without a doubt, it
was the most dazzling alpenglow I have ever seen. Words or pictures could never do it
justice. The skiing, on the other hand,
left a lot to be desired. The breakable
crust was never ending. Turning became
virtually impossible, especially given the fatigued states of our legs. We side-slipped down thousands of feet of
vert in the dark. It was survival skiing
at its finest. My objectives became
quite simple: Ski to Kevin. Repeat.
We finally reached the traverse
where the snow was still extremely crusty.
Rather than making a slight downward cut and then booting up to the
notch like Joe, Kyle, and I had done in softer conditions, Kevin and I elected
to follow our skin track which traversed just below the cliff band. Once again, I donned my ice axe, and off we
went. The traverse wasn’t difficult, but
it was still a relief to get to the notch.
Down the other side and back on
Shannon Ridge, we took a short break and boosted morale with candy bars and
Kevin’s last peanut butter and nutella sandwich which he generously shared. Spirits lifted, we began the slog down
Shannon Ridge. The ridge is a little up
and down so it was tedious without our skins, and of course, any pockets of decent
snow were on the uphill sections. Eventually,
I took off my skis and started hiking. While
I was still having fun, I was fed up with the death crust. I found post-holing less frustrating but more
strenuous, so I went back to my skis as soon as the snow started to
soften.
We started cutting down to the
logging road once we reached 3,920 feet, the elevation we had noted earlier in
the day. We knew we were close to our skin
track, but we had lost sight of it descending through the trees. We probably would have intersected the trail
without following our track, but we were a little concerned about being too far
left or right and overshooting it. We
were not in the mood to wind up in the drainage below the trail. After a making some long traverses back and
forth, Kevin stumbled upon our up-track in a clearing.
Skin track found, it was a short
ski down to the trail and an uneventful ski to the trailhead. The creek crossings were wearisome, but we
were grateful to be on the homestretch. Back
at the trailhead, we polished off the last of our rations and hit the road for
the 6 mile trek back to the car. We’d been
worried that the grade might not be steep enough to ski, but fortunately, we
were able to glide the first several miles nearly effortlessly in the
moonlight.
As expected, the last few miles
of the road drug. We were forced to
remove our skis numerous times to climb over the down trees, and we had to walk
the snow-free sections of road which we had gingerly skinned in the
morning. Nevertheless, our spirits remained
high. We were pretty loopy from
exhaustion, and everything seemed quite funny.
I remember laughing a lot.
At exactly
midnight, we reached Kevin’s car at Baker Lake Road. It was a relief to be back! We were totally spent. We drank some orange juice leftover from the
morning and changed clothes. We were
both moving extremely slowly, and everything took a lot of thought. The simple task of changing clothes easily took
20 minutes or more.
By the time we
were ready to go, it was close to 1 AM and neither of us had slept a wink since
Saturday morning. However, in spite of
our fatigue, we wanted to put a few miles between ourselves and the mighty
Shuksan. I offered to drive, hoping to
get us to Jack in the Box in Burlington, my traditional late night North
Cascades exit diner. Needless to say, I
made it about 15 miles before I realized I was driving 20 mph in a 50
zone. I pulled off and traded places
with Kevin, and before I knew it, we were at Jack in the Box.
After refueling
on burgers and fries, we made the only reasonable decision to catch a couple
hours of sleep in the back of Kevin’s car before driving the 75 miles to
Seattle. We quickly rearranged our gear
and crawled into our sleeping bags at 2:45.
It felt amazing.
Although I
neglected to set an alarm, Kevin and I both woke up at 5. Feeling renewed, we hit the road and made it
back to the Canyon Park P&R without any problems. From the p&r, I rushed home via Highway
520, paying my first toll to avoid being late for work. I walked into my apartment at 6:50, took a
five minute rinse off shower, and was on my way to Bellevue by 7 for a PACCAR/Marmot
double shot.
The rest of my
week was filled with blissful memories of Shuksan. I longed to be back up there. It was a wonderful journey, and I truly loved
every moment. Kevin and I are an
excellent team, and I wouldn’t have changed a thing about our trip. I look forward to sharing many more
adventures together!
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