The Shannon Ridge Trail #742 is the approach to the Sulphide Glacier route on Mt. Shuksan. We encountered snow on the road at about 2000', which is about 3+ miles from the trailhead. Maybe less. Anyway, it took us just over an hour to reach the trailhead. We skiied up the road, but had to take the skis off many times (10?) because the snow has melted off the road in many places. Also, there were a couple of very minor blowdowns across the road. From the trailhead on there is almost complete snowcover, the exception being the streams. Most have melted out, meaning few snow bridges. The route up to Shannon Ridge is pretty obvious even under this much snow. Go early though, because by afternoon the snow becomes wet and miserable to walk/ski in. Once above timberline we noticed many recent avalanches, which is of course common this time of year. We only went through avalanche debris in two areas - once just above Shannon Ridge, and once on the very short traverse mentioned below. The traverse under the cliff (@6000') before the climb up to the rolling Sulphide glacier was frozen solid in the morning. We had set a skin track across it the evening before our summit bid, which ended up being a pretty good idea as it was frozen solid yet at 6am the next morning...and there's a looong runout if you slip. Skiers take note: bring crampons. Despite the gentle grade of the Sulphide (and the area below it), skinning up was dicey at times. We often resorted to sidestepping on our edges, as the skins weren't holding on the icy snow. My friend took his skis off twice for long sections of the climb; I slipped 30 feet once before catching myself. It would suck to fall when the snow is this hard. But by 9am conditions had softened up a bit, and we reached the summit pyramid by 10am. Stashed our skis at the base (too wussy to ski the crusty 45-degree stuff). Another factor to note is that the sun didn't hit the south face of the pyramid until @9am. This is either good or bad, depending on your preferred mode of ascending the snow chute to the top. The bottom 100 feet of the pyramid featured a one-inch hard crust with softer stuff beneath, which made kicking steps unpleasant. Beyond that we were front-pointing in the shady spots (very difficult to get much purchase), then kicking in three or four inches for the last 100 feet. The pyramid is ALL snow and rime ice yet. It took @45 minutes to climb the 600 feet of the pyramid to the tiny summit on this beautiful sunny day. White mountains everywhere. Big grins. The descent from the pyramid was fine, as the sun had been working on the snow. We were able to plunge-step most of the way down after facing in for the first 150 feet. The snow was super for skiing all the way back to camp at 5800'. Only one crevasse was open on the glacier, but it is obvious and not on the route...stay high, like Beckey says to do! We didn't use a rope or pro the entire time, and felt perfectly safe doing so. Slushy snow from Shannon Ridge down to the car, but I think if you left earlier than we did, and packed up camp more quickly, the tree skiing would be awesome. A final note - the snow is melting FAST from the road and lower trail section. Waiting a few weeks will mean less elevation gain, less distance...less solitude!

Mount Shuksan August 05/06, 2000 Doerte and I camped at the trailhead, at 2,500’, on Friday night to get an early start up the trail. We were underway at 7am. The trail is in good shape even going up to the ridge where it twists and turns around fallen trees, roots, and brush. Just a month ago this was under several feet of snow, but now it is green, and alive with bugs, flies, mice, frogs, and even snakes! The first snow shows up on the ridge at about 5,000 feet. Mount Baker, 10,781’, looms massive to the west. The route reaches a small notch, the last trees, and fabulous views to the north, at about 5,400’. The first part of the traverse had melted out to rock, but after that it was only firm snow. We narrowly missed being in an avalanche as a huge cornice broke off sending blocks of snow and ice, some as big as refrigerators, directly in our path. We waited for a while out of harms way, only to have a second, larger one come down. Finally, we moved quickly, one at a time, across the debris field, out of harm’s way on the other side. We were glad we had our axes in hand, but wished we had our helmets on instead of on our packs. Sometimes climbers get lulled into forgetting how unpredictable the mountains can be! We made camp on the low edge of the Sulphide Glacier at the low camp at 6,200 feet, thinking it was the high camp. There was flowing water, and a couple nice places in the rocks for the tents. It was nice to camp out of the snow for a change. The high camp is at 6,500’ on the west side of the Glacier. We had great views of Mount Challenger 8,236’, and the Cascades to the east, and below us Sulphide and Crystal Glaciers. It was fun to listen to the rumble of seracs breaking off and tumbling down. Climbers were just little dots descending the snowfield below the summit pyramid. Dan arrived in the afternoon and our team was complete. We left camp at 5:15 a.m. just as the sun was rising up. The sky was still completely clear…except for the summit pyramid! The only cloud in the entire sky hung over Mount Shuksan! Most of the other rope teams left at the same time, one that was camped with us, and one from the upper camp. The route was straightforward and mostly direct, skirting the edge of the Sulphide Glacier, mostly above any visible crevasses. At the base of the summit pyramid, we stashed our crampons, climbed up a 5 foot block onto another small snowfield, which we ascended with axes, to the gully that leads to the summit. We put our axes on our packs. Would we need them again' The gully was class 3 and class 4 with some loose rock and exposure, but with good hand and foot holds. Some places were wet and a little slick, but there was no ice. Helmets were definitely a good idea! Early season the gully is completely filled with snow. Our absent teammate, Dave, who loves the rock, would of really enjoyed this. Of course the gully was a bottleneck for climbers heading up and down. Everyone did a fantastic job of not rolling rocks and being patient with slower climbers. Dan, Doerte, and I finally made the summit, 9,127’, and shared it with one other party. Clouds obscured the view, but the wind was calm, and the temperature pleasant. We didn’t mind missing the view, since we had enjoyed so much excitement completing the climb. The climb down the gully was slow and safe, but we now knew the route, so it was relaxed. One party set up a rappel. At the base of the pyramid, a climber dislocated a shoulder, but was going to hike out. Back on the Glacier, the cloud finally blew away from the summit! It took only an hour to get back to camp, where we all headed for the cold running water to quench our thirst and cool down. One guy even took a swim in a small pool! Like the guide says, Shuksan is not a “hands in pocket” climb, but is a fun mixed bag of fantastic views, glacier travel, and some rock.

Five of us hiked in with skis and climbing gear to climb Mt Shuksan by the Sulphide Glacier route. The road was snow covered and impassable even in my Jeep in places about a mile from the trailhead. The trail was melted out for about another mile, and became snow covered near the old forest service road. We hiked rather than skied, (too lazy to change gear!) and didn't sink too badly in the softening snow. From base camp at 5,400 feet, we skied up the snow slopes. Very early morning start is advised, to be off the slopes by afternoon due to the soft slab avalanches. We also observed a cornice breaking off in late afternoon on Saturday. The summit block was snow covered - main gully 50 to 55 degree snow, soft snow, and rotten ice. Good pro in the rock beside the gully. Boots, crampons, and ice axe recommended. The summit was snow covered. Ski out was soft but do-able. No open crevasses except for east side of snowfield near the Sulphide. A ski approach/descent to/from the summit block is recommended for moving quickly over several avalance slopes near 6,000 feet. However, one member of our climbing party did not ski, and hiked the whole way, had a lighter pack (didn't have to haul skis), and made the summit ok. He remarked that the snow was soft in places and made walking somewhat difficult. Excellent alpine climb, glamorous summit. Full conditions! Life is good...:) The Mountain Woman