Climb: Shuksan-North Face
Date of Climb: 7/16/2006
Trip Report: Short Story:
Jesse and I climbed the North Face of Shuksan Sunday morning. Aside from an open bergschrund on the lower North Face glacier (a second tool was essential for me) the route was straightforward with excellent cramponing conditions all the way up and awesome weather.
Photos and more:
We hiked the approach in 3 hours, 45 minutes following beta from previous posters. Descending to the bottom of the White Salmon valley from the top of the clear cut and then ascending the other side worked out well – thanks! We were thankful that it was not too hot for the steep walk up the woods on the other side.
When we got to camp we rested and relaxed in the sun.
Clouds formed remarkably fast as sunset neared and we were in a white-out for a couple hours just before and after sunset. All clouds dissipated rapidly thereafter and it was completely clear by midnight. First, there was an amazing display of stars and then a really bright moon came out.
We departed camp just after 5:10 am Sunday morning and quickly worked our way up the lower glacier.
We encountered a high and wide bergschrund which spanned the entire glacier and found a snow bridge across it with a steep snow step on the other side.
We whipped out the second tools (I was very happy we had them) and ascended with no problems.
The rest of the North Face was straightforward with firm snow making for great cramponing. We made it to the top of the face at 7:45 am.
The actual North Face climb felt like the quickest part of the trip! We were treated to a fabulous early morning view from the North Shoulder.
From here, a long traverse around the pyramid, while negotiating some crevasses on the Crystal Glacier, brought us to the summit gully.
After a rest, we scrambled up the gully and summited at 9:45 am, rested some more, enjoyed the views, and then descended.
The slog down the Sulphide, through Hells Highway, and over the Upper Curtis was fun albeit long. We took it easy through here to conserve energy for the rest of the descent and to keep Jesse’s ankle from rolling due to poor crampon fit.
Winnies slide featured hard snow, but no ice yet. The next snow section on the White Salmon seemed steeper and still hard so it took us a little time to downclimb this part. We then followed a route we had scoped out from our bivy spot the night before, which was circuitous, but avoided some potential troubles if we headed straight down, including large moats, cliff bands, and rockfall from the Hanging Glacier.
From the bottom of the snow, we had a helluva time in White Salmon river valley to get back to the forested rib and up to the road. We dealt with some thick sections of slide alder and very annoying salmon berry patches. It basically sucked, but it always seems worse when you are in it, and we weren’t in it for that long. After reaching the forest, it was up and out, reaching the car at 5:40 pm, 12.5 hours from camp to car.
The North Face of Shuksan was a sweet route. We climbed six glaciers (Hanging, Crystal, Sulphide, Upper Curtis, White Salmon, and the North Face Glaciers) and basically walked around the mountain. I really got a feel for how big Shuksan really is. We definitely made a few route finding errors which cost us some time and Jesse can attest that his crampons, which didn’t seem to fit properly at any point during the climb, did not help make fast time on the snow descent. Nonetheless, with perfect weather, clear views, and a great partner it was all part of the fun!
Gear Notes: Brought two screws and a picket but didn't use (could have on schrund). Used second tool.
Approach Notes: No trail, descend forest to White Salmon river, cross it, and ascended forest on the other side until you reach alpine meadows. I think descending out of White Salmon River Valley sucks any way you slice it, but it's only a matter of time before you make it to the road!
nice climb. 
. Thanks much for sharing 
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