When: July 8 & 9, 2024
Where: Kulshan, North Cascades, Wa, USA
Conditions: Warm & breezy
Forecast: high of 75 degrees at basecamp, 60 degrees at summit
Detailed snow and avalanche conditions:
Snowline begins at Heliotrope Ridge. The trail includes a few snow bridges, one having some fall consequence. Snow is still covering many camping spots at Hogsback which limits availability. There is running water on the northern-most part of camp.
Crevasses are not visible through the lower Coleman. The climb up from Hogsback is the steepest I've seen it be and has some bad runout. We found this section much more troublesome on the way down while the sun warmed the snow.
So much snow above 8,000ft! The moat is easily crossed. You're in avalanche terrain from there on. Colfax Serac is crumbling and had 1 small release during our summit push. The rocky ramp to the Roman Wall has some avalanche debris from above with more releases likely in the near future.
Gear used: Ice axe, mountaineering boots, glacier rope. Soft snow throughout was a challenge to travel on so don't skimp on the boots. Crampons aren't very effective, so a stiff boot helped with the steep terrain above camp and at the top of the Roman Wall.
Gear brought but not used: Pickets, crevasse rescue gear. We did not use pickets, instead opting for an ice axe & boot belay on the transition from the summit ridge to the top of the Roman Wall. We also saw guides short roping this portion. We appreciated the rope a lot. I'd read reports of climbers not using one recently, but was a comfort knowing the lack of integrity of the snow below our feet. A crevasse fall did seem unlikely but having the team ready to rescue a fallen climber was one less thing to worry about as we traveled.
Other factors: Bugs were bad! Mosquitos up to camp, bees at camp. The wild flowers were nice though.
Photos at http://www.thedirtbaguette.com/2024/07/baker-via-coleman-deming-july-8th-9th.html?m=1
Comments