Steve Dougherty ~ Aug 29, 2006 |
Mt. Shuksan is located to the east of Mt. Baker and both are very near the Canadian border. Mt. Shuksan is a majestic rocky mountain adorned with many glaciers, a favorite of photographers. Our party of six (two from Bend and four from Salem) began our long drive north in hopes of summiting Mt. Shuksan via the highly acclaimed Fisher Chimneys route. The Fisher Chimneys route is considered a classic route because it offers climbers a mix of scrambling, glacier travel, steep snow and challenging route finding on a magnificent mountain. The Salem four departed the State Motor Pool Park and Ride at 5:30 a.m. Friday morning hoping to get through Portland before its rush hour and through Seattle after its rush hour. We took three rest stops (McDonald's in Centralia, Rest Area short of Seattle and Fred Meyer Deli in Bellingham) and were still able to arrive at the Austin Pass Lake Ann trailhead at 1 p.m. Our Bend twosome arrived at 1:30 p.m. and we set out on the picturesque four-mile hike to Lake Ann shortly after 2 p.m. under a clear blue sky and moderate temperatures. Some haziness was noted on the drive up at the lower elevations, presumably from forest fires. The hike to Lake Ann drops 800 feet from Austin Pass to the valley floor through shady forested terrain. Many little creeks decorate the landscape and allow for cool refreshment for those immune to mountain maladies. The trail regained the 800 feet over rocky trail and open terrain to our destination. Our approach hike took us just over two hours to complete. We camped on the east side of the lake. The mosquitoes were pesky if you did not use repellant. We ate as a group, enjoying steak stir-fry and rice. Sugar cookies, made by Markian's wife, were enjoyed as a desert. Following the dinner we discussed our strategy for the next day's climb. It was decided to wake at 3 a.m. and depart by 3:45 a.m. in hopes of arriving at the base of the Fisher Chimneys at first light. We were in our tents by 8 p.m. It was a dark and moonless night when we began our hike at 3:45 a.m. After switch backing our way up through the trees we crossed a small drainage and entered talus on the far side. The path through the talus was not hard to follow and brought us to a sloping snow patch that was 20 yards across. We were able to kick good footing in the snow thanks to the warm night. We had to sit down and scoot off the opposite side as it was melted away from the rock. We would learn on our return trip that this snow patch was really a snow bridge seemingly only supported on one side. It was at this point that the climber's trail entered the gully that led up onto the "sloping shelf". We understood that we would gain about 300 feet before beginning the "long traverse" to the start of Fisher Chimneys. In the darkness I failed to see the trail enter the trees just after entering the gully and opted to scramble the more open terrain above the trees. After gaining 300 feet we would regain the main route marked with a large rock cairn as the trail left the trees and began the long traverse. Small rock cairns placed periodically gave evidence that we were contouring the shallow talus slope on route. At 5:45 a.m. we took a rest break at the base of Fisher Chimneys and were relieved that its location was obvious. We climbed up and right out of the first gully and found ourselves at the infamous "Fat Man's Misery". This exposed section of the route was easily passed, by going low and using the excellent rock for handholds. Here we passed a group of three who chose to rope themselves together before tackling the 20-foot pitch just past Fat Man's Misery. The elderly man requesting the security of the rope had led several parties through the chimneys some thirty years previous. We took our time searching for the best course through the chimneys being careful not to dislodge rocks onto party members below us and moved steadily up the gully system topping out on the White Salmon Glacier at 6:55 a.m. I marked the rocks with baby powder so that the entry location at the top of the chimneys would be obvious on our descent. We put on our climbing harnesses and crampons. We roped up into two three-person rope teams and set out hugging the right edge of the low angle White Salmon glacier for a short ways and then found ourselves scrambling through 50-100 yards of talus. In hindsight we should have held off on the crampons until we were past the talus given the softness of the snow. Once across the talus we negotiated the steeply sloped Winnie's Slide moving up and left placing three pickets along the way. We topped Winnie's Slide at 7:25 a.m. The slope is flat for a short distance beyond Winnie's Slide. Then a narrow rock band separates the White Salmon Glacier from the lower reach of the Upper Curtis glacier. We chose to climb the moderately broken low angle ice rather than remove our crampons and do the detour scramble on the rock to the left. Pickets were of no use here due to the hardness of the ice, so ice screws were used to direct the route. We were past the steep section by 8:00 a.m. and were at the bottom of Hell's Highway by 9:00 a.m. We unfortunately got separated from our second rope team who followed the crampon tracks and wands of another rope team instead of cutting the corner as the first rope team had done. By 9:30 a.m. we were regrouped at the base of Hell's Highway.
On Hell's Highway we first negotiated a lengthy pitch of moderately steep snow and then a short very steep slope to gain the Sulphide Glacier. We observed a group of about six moving up the Sulphide Glacier and we endeavored to maintain our lead fearing that if they got in front of us they could increase the risk of rock fall in the central gully route of the summit pinnacle. They nearly caught us and likely would have passed us if party member, Rich Margosian, had not engaged the other party in conversation. |