Barely two weeks after failing a potential summit of Shuksan via the Sulphite glacier I was back to give Shuksan another go.
There are endless routes on Shuksan all of which are worthy but the focus of my attention was the White Salmon Glacier located on the north side and is viewable from Mt Baker ski resort. It wasn’t hard to find partners for this worth objective and within a few phone calls both Scott McAlister and Drew Tabke were both on board for a one day ascent of the 9000 foot giant.
We arrived at the White Salmon parking lot of Mt Baker ski resort at dawn packing our bags as the early morning sky lightened above us. Before long we were skinning to the base of chair 8 watching the early morning alpenglow bask on clouds hovering above Mt. Shuksan’s summit.
Looking at Mount Shuksan with the White Salmon Glacier on the right from Mount Baker ski resort
After an hour of bushwhacking down steep snowless forest and creek after creek we were back on snow and skinning up to the base of the Shuksan. While at first I wanted to skin up a mellow gully, Drew who had prior knowledge of the area had us go a steeper yet less avalanche prone slope.
Making our way up to the White Salmon Glacier
The stark contrast between the blue skies above and the freshly snow covered slopes made for amazing scenery. While the south side had amazing features this side was much more aggressive.
Looking west towards the Mount Baker Ski resortSki touring on to the White Salmon Glacier of Mount Shuksan
It wasn’t long before we made our way onto the White Salmon Glacier. With Drew in the lead we navigated through the maze of rollers and crevasses all hidden under more then 10 feet of new snow since early April.
Heading up the upper slopes of the White Salmon Glacier
Skinning went fast with unobstructed views of our ascent path and a few sub summits looming above us.
The coverage on the glacier was much better then we had expected with only a few minor crevasses along the way. This allowed for fast progress.
Near the top of the White Salmon Glacier
Before long we were standing on the mellow Curtis glacier preparing to climb a small hourglass called the Devils highway, which would allow us access to the summit pinnacle.
Heading up Hell’s Highway
Once we got onto the Sulphite Glacier we were greeted with whiteout conditions similar to the predicament we had a few weeks prior. Feeling comfortable with both the terrain and the weather we slowly pushed forward with minimal visibility and before long we were standing on the summit of Mt. Shuksan.
Standing on the summit of Mount ShuksanLooking south into the North Cascades from Mount Shuksan
The weather opened up for a split second and we were able to see Hagan and Blum to the southeast.
Looking down the Sulphite Glacier
Before long the sucker hole closed up and we were forced to ride down the summit pyramid in a total whiteout. While sketchy we were able to make it down the 45 degree slope with no problem and back to the White Salmon Glacier.
Skiing down the White Salmon GlacierSnowboarding down the White Salmon Glacier
If you enjoyed this ski tour and are interested in more trip reports near Mount Baker and off Highway 542 make sure to check out this comprehensive break down of what backcountry lines are out there
