I did a solo climb/ski of Kulshan via the Squak glacier over the weekend.
I parked at the Sno-Park Saturday morning, which was far busier than I expected, and booted up the road a couple miles before I was able to put my skins on. A kind gentleman named Chris offered me a ride on his snowmobile, which saved me a huge amount of time and energy. Apparently there was a BBQ event going on, which explained the crowds of sledders.
I set up camp in the trees on a ridge east of the standard Easton route camps, a little away from the majority of the sledders. (I saw signs of mostly small wet loose and wet slab avalanches in the area and surrounding mountains). I had lunch and took a nap. Then I decided to go up to the Squak to get some laps in. Well, I called it quits after one lap - the snow was too much mashed potatoes for me.
I had a leisurely late afternoon/evening and enjoyed the sunset. I set my alarm for 2am, but I must've turned it off in my sleep because I didn't wake up til 430. Whoops!
Even though it never got below freezing overnight, radiative cooling made for a very crusty surface. I was glad to have brought ski crampons! I slowly made my way up the glacier. I crossed tracks with the sled tracks leading up the base of Sherman peak, then over towards the Roman wall.
I saw a set up skin tracks headed up! It looked like they came up from the Easton glacier. It was nice having tracks to follow. Part of the way up the Roman wall, I decided I didn't feel comfortable skinning up steep crusty snow anymore and ditched my skis. Well, I accidentally really ditched one of them...
Whelp. Nothing I can do to stop it. So I continued booting up. I punched through the crust quite easily now. I slogged the rest of the way up the wall to the false summit, where I found some packed dry snow and a good breeze. What a nice change from crust and mashed potatoes!
I was on the summit just in time for lunch, although it was too breezy for me to bother with that. I made a sad snow man (snow pile?), took a few pictures, then headed back down. I picked up one ski, then found the other thankfully just a few hundred feet below, tail sticking up from the snow.
I had lunch, then clicked in. A few hundred feet of crust, a few hundred feet of glorious corn, and too many thousand feet of nasty gross exhausting slop.
At camp, I melted snow and ate before breaking down camp. It was after 4p by the time I took off. I mostly reverse coursed out, minus hitching a ride. I put my skins on at the summer trailhead. I was surprised to see two groups of hikers in the vicinity so late in the day. The road was long and rather slightly miserable. By the time I got back to my car it was sunset.
What a weekend!
Pictures in Google photos link.
PS - there are open crevasses on the Easton and the upper Deming glaciers.
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