What a difference a year makes! Last year, at virtually the same time of year, the route was much easier to manage...just a sniff of snow prior to the top of the Chimneys, and bucket steps up Winnie's Slide and Hells Hwy. This year, snow at the trailhead and the road is currently closed 1/2 mile and 500 feet down from the trailhead, so there was bonus work to do. Lots of snow covering the boulder/scree field prior to the start of the Chimneys, and getting off the snow onto the rock via moat is a little spicey. Beyond that, chimneys are dry, glaciers in good shape, steep sections seemed a bit steeper this year with the heaps of snow up there. Snow good and firm early, but a bit mixed later in the day with potential to blow out tires, so set your pro, be careful, and have fun. Great route, and good climbing with Cluck.
cluck - Jul 18, 2006 2:59 am Date Climbed: Jul 16, 2006
Fisher Chimneys
A few notes on route conditions. Big snow year had Lake Ann still frozen and lots of snow on approach. Chimneys dry but lots of problem solving for entrances via large moats. Winnie's hard snow and steep enough to warrant a rope and pickets. Pitch up to Upper Curtis had some ice (we place a couple screws) but wasn't super steep. Upper Curtis cracks still mostly closed. Highway to Hell was moderate. Sulphide closed. We climbed SE ridge, downclimbed central South gulley (dry). A very, very long day.
alpine climber - Jun 6, 2006 3:32 pm Date Climbed: Jun 4, 2006
Sulphide glacier
Helped lead a group of kids from WWU on the Outdoor Center's trip. We got turned back Sunday due to a down pour of rain. Beautiful sunset though from high camp on Saturday.
Norman - May 5, 2006 12:59 am Date Climbed: Jul 17, 2005
Shuksan NF
My Son and I finally did the North Face using parts of three days. Please take a look at the NF Route description. I hope summitposters will add some info or give the route a try. Super route.
km_donovan - Apr 16, 2006 2:47 am Date Climbed: Aug 8, 2002
Sulphide Glacier Route
A great day with friends. Spectacular weather but a bit windy on the summit.
ericd - Mar 28, 2006 10:21 pm Date Climbed: Aug 2, 2003
Sulphide Glacier
Possible in a day, took a little longer due to an accident. Top pyramid was hard ice, saw my friend whiz by me airborn, then was pulled 300' in self arrest position to ease/break his fall. Banged up bad. Helicopter came 2 hrs later. A winter wonderland.
Fuggedaboudit - Mar 26, 2006 10:29 pm Date Climbed: Aug 19, 2003
Sulphide Glacier
My first Summit! Great time with a great group. Rock pyramid is a great way to finish, though not much fun in Scarpa Invernos!
Snidely Whiplash - Feb 23, 2006 4:10 pm Date Climbed: Jul 15, 1984
Sulphide Glacier Route
What a climb! My first Cascade summit. Downclimbing that summit gully was pretty scary.
Route Climbed: Sulphide Date Climbed: 17 Feb, 2005
Sixteen hours car to car on skis. The snow lower down was crusty and hard to ski, but the pyramid gully made for great cramponing. A great day. Climbed the NF on 30 May 08. A great route, would recommend it to anyone. Climbed the North Face spring 2008. Another asthetic climb up the beautiful peak.
Route Climbed: Sulphide Date Climbed: September 11, 2005
Cloudy at camp, awoke to a few inches of new snow which melted off by mid-day. Summit pyramid was wet. Clouds broke when we reached the summit to give us some views.
Route Climbed: Fisher Chimneys Date Climbed: July 23, 2005
Climbed with good group of Mazamas, party of 6. Finding the start of the chimneys is a little tricky in darkness and low clouds, even for those that have climbed the route before. Snow and crevasse bridges in good shape. Finished the pyramid doing the SE Rib/Ridge (simul-climb) which is much more fun and solid than the standard central gully. A few pieces of smallish rock pro were used on this portion, and our group used the four pickets we carried for the steeper pitches of the glacier route. Completed ascent in under 8 hours, and descent under 7 hours, at leisurely and secure pace. Good transition management essential. Used brain bucket the entire day, and yes it came in handy on the descent thru the chimneys. Excellent route, great climb day above the clouds.
Route Climbed: Sulphide Glacier Date Climbed: July 24, 2005
Wow, what a climb! Hike up to base camp from end of Shannon Creek camp road was a slog, over steep exposed roots and a lot of plant overgrowth. Great hike once out of the forest. Got up to base camp in afternoon, weather holding, but a lot of cloud cover obscuring the summit.
Started up the glacier at 6:30 am, which we figured out later was much too late. This was a busy place, with a lot of large groups heading up to the summit. Nice trip up the glacier...wanded the route in case of white out later.
Base of gulley on summit pyramid was a traffice jam of people heading up and down. Waiting for a large team to all rappel down put us back two hours. Gulley treacherous in places due to soft very steep snow, wet rocks, loose crap being dislodged from above, etc. I had a few 'high tone' moments in the gulley and pushed ahead despite being a bit wigged about it. Made the summit at 3 pm. Clouds swirled around and looked to be creating a potential white out..
Thankfully, another group that summited after us agreed that a double rappel would be the fastest way to get all the people off the summit, so we combined ropes, and descended the gulley with two long rappels as opposed to four.
Great descent......clouds disappeared and then one of the most amazing sunsets I've ever seen on the way down. Arrived at camp just at the moment that headlamps would be necessary.
Great climb, but definitely be prepared for anything, and if you bring rock pro, you could avoid having to deal with the gulley at all and could take the ridge, as suggested in cluck's entry in the summit log. We watched multiple teams trot up and down the ridge while we were still part way up the gulley.
FYI: you must use the composting toilet up at the base of sulphide glacier....a total zen moment to yourself with awe inspiring views of baker from the throne. Not your average backcountry scat experience.
Route Climbed: Fisher Chimneys Date Climbed: July 4th, 2005
What a full fun filled day! About 17 hours of hiking, scrambling, glacier crossing and descending back to Lake Ann. We had the full weather experience with great weather most of the day, rain and fog on the summit.
Route Climbed: Sulphide Glacier Date Climbed: July 6, 2005
Well, I got a good taste of North Cascades climbing. Hiked with agorokhov and ClimbingSnow. We started from the Shannon Ridge trailhead (2500') just before noon on still partly cloudy skies. Then, half an hour into our approach, clouds started to come in. By the time we reached the North Cascades National Park boundary sign (at ~ 4700') at 3:30pm, clouds were very dark and it started to rain. Then, up the hill to the pass/saddle. Visibility less than 100 yards from here on. More and more rain.....we got quite soaked. We finally & quickly made camp at 6200' (about 50 yards uphill from the toilet). We tried our best to dry out all 3 of us on a small 2-man tent. It was crowded in there with Alex and David. It rained all night long....not only that, then the winds picked up and it howled most of the night. None of us got any sleep at all. By 8:30am next morning, we said f*** it, broke camp and headed down. All 3 of us got even more soaked on the walk-out (it had been raining now for over 20 hours...and was still raining!!) When we reached the trailhead, it looked like the 3 of us came out from a swim with all our clothes on......completely drenched in rain water. Ah.....the fun of North Cascades climbing! Bring several umbrellas!
Route Climbed: Sulphide Glacier Date Climbed: May 2001
We took the coulouir up in the midst of a really hot stretch which left the snow in there quite soft and easy to punch through. Found myself up to my chest in one or two spots but managed to get up and get some great views.
Route Climbed: Sulphide Glacier Date Climbed: 5/14/05
Camped at approx. 6000 ft on the glacier. Weather was horrible. Climbed in rain the entire time with visibility often less then 100 ft. Everything we had on were wet. Very soft snow made for tough climbing. We reached the base of summit pyramid (thanks to our GPS) but we wised up and headed back down.
I'll be back in August and hope for better weather next time.
Route Climbed: Sulphide glacier Date Climbed: April 29-30, 2005
Loads of fresh snow after 10 am. We did not bring snowshoes (or skis) and hence had a lengthy slog upto high camp at 6500 ft on the sulphide glacier. Conditions were near perfect the next morning though. Mike and I started for the summit at 3:30 am and had firm snow all the way to the top. It got cloudy and started snowing once we were at the base of the pyramid. Conditions were perfect on the couloir though - firm snow and ice at parts all the way up. Sustained at 45 degrees with several sections of 50-55 degrees. Downclimbing the pyramid was fun!
There were hardly any crevasses on the west end of the Sulphide glacier at this time. The one visible crevasse had a thick snowbridge across.
So, bring snowshoes/skis, and extra ice tool for the summit pyramid, and get a real early start on the summit day.
thundercloud - Jul 18, 2006 10:39 pm Date Climbed: Jul 16, 2006
Fisher ChimneysWhat a difference a year makes! Last year, at virtually the same time of year, the route was much easier to manage...just a sniff of snow prior to the top of the Chimneys, and bucket steps up Winnie's Slide and Hells Hwy. This year, snow at the trailhead and the road is currently closed 1/2 mile and 500 feet down from the trailhead, so there was bonus work to do. Lots of snow covering the boulder/scree field prior to the start of the Chimneys, and getting off the snow onto the rock via moat is a little spicey. Beyond that, chimneys are dry, glaciers in good shape, steep sections seemed a bit steeper this year with the heaps of snow up there. Snow good and firm early, but a bit mixed later in the day with potential to blow out tires, so set your pro, be careful, and have fun. Great route, and good climbing with Cluck.
cluck - Jul 18, 2006 2:59 am Date Climbed: Jul 16, 2006
Fisher ChimneysA few notes on route conditions. Big snow year had Lake Ann still frozen and lots of snow on approach. Chimneys dry but lots of problem solving for entrances via large moats. Winnie's hard snow and steep enough to warrant a rope and pickets. Pitch up to Upper Curtis had some ice (we place a couple screws) but wasn't super steep. Upper Curtis cracks still mostly closed. Highway to Hell was moderate. Sulphide closed. We climbed SE ridge, downclimbed central South gulley (dry). A very, very long day.
alpine climber - Jun 6, 2006 3:32 pm Date Climbed: Jun 4, 2006
Sulphide glacierHelped lead a group of kids from WWU on the Outdoor Center's trip. We got turned back Sunday due to a down pour of rain. Beautiful sunset though from high camp on Saturday.
Norman - May 5, 2006 12:59 am Date Climbed: Jul 17, 2005
Shuksan NFMy Son and I finally did the North Face using parts of three days. Please take a look at the NF Route description. I hope summitposters will add some info or give the route a try. Super route.
km_donovan - Apr 16, 2006 2:47 am Date Climbed: Aug 8, 2002
Sulphide Glacier RouteA great day with friends. Spectacular weather but a bit windy on the summit.
ericd - Mar 28, 2006 10:21 pm Date Climbed: Aug 2, 2003
Sulphide GlacierPossible in a day, took a little longer due to an accident. Top pyramid was hard ice, saw my friend whiz by me airborn, then was pulled 300' in self arrest position to ease/break his fall. Banged up bad. Helicopter came 2 hrs later. A winter wonderland.
Fuggedaboudit - Mar 26, 2006 10:29 pm Date Climbed: Aug 19, 2003
Sulphide GlacierMy first Summit! Great time with a great group. Rock pyramid is a great way to finish, though not much fun in Scarpa Invernos!
Snidely Whiplash - Feb 23, 2006 4:10 pm Date Climbed: Jul 15, 1984
Sulphide Glacier RouteWhat a climb! My first Cascade summit. Downclimbing that summit gully was pretty scary.
missadventure - Feb 8, 2006 11:12 pm
Route Climbed: sulphide glacier Date Climbed: july 12 2001we did this route in one day from the parking lot. it was a hella fun route, especially the rock bit at the summit pinnacle
setrent - Dec 22, 2005 8:40 pm
Route Climbed: Sulphide Date Climbed: 17 Feb, 2005Sixteen hours car to car on skis. The snow lower down was crusty and hard to ski, but the pyramid gully made for great cramponing. A great day. Climbed the NF on 30 May 08. A great route, would recommend it to anyone. Climbed the North Face spring 2008. Another asthetic climb up the beautiful peak.
mandrake - Oct 31, 2005 7:38 pm
Route Climbed: Sulphide Glacier Date Climbed: Aug 18, 2004Terrific weather & group. Camped up at the high camp with awesome 360-degree views.
slowpoke - Sep 13, 2005 10:22 am
Route Climbed: Sulphide Date Climbed: September 11, 2005Cloudy at camp, awoke to a few inches of new snow which melted off by mid-day. Summit pyramid was wet. Clouds broke when we reached the summit to give us some views.
dicey - Sep 4, 2005 2:03 pm
Route Climbed: sulfide Date Climbed: July 2002new snow on summit pyramid, so we climbed the gully up the face
thundercloud - Jul 31, 2005 2:56 pm
Route Climbed: Fisher Chimneys Date Climbed: July 23, 2005Climbed with good group of Mazamas, party of 6. Finding the start of the chimneys is a little tricky in darkness and low clouds, even for those that have climbed the route before. Snow and crevasse bridges in good shape. Finished the pyramid doing the SE Rib/Ridge (simul-climb) which is much more fun and solid than the standard central gully. A few pieces of smallish rock pro were used on this portion, and our group used the four pickets we carried for the steeper pitches of the glacier route. Completed ascent in under 8 hours, and descent under 7 hours, at leisurely and secure pace. Good transition management essential. Used brain bucket the entire day, and yes it came in handy on the descent thru the chimneys. Excellent route, great climb day above the clouds.
amochka - Jul 26, 2005 6:38 pm
Route Climbed: Sulphide Glacier Date Climbed: July 24, 2005Wow, what a climb! Hike up to base camp from end of Shannon Creek camp road was a slog, over steep exposed roots and a lot of plant overgrowth. Great hike once out of the forest. Got up to base camp in afternoon, weather holding, but a lot of cloud cover obscuring the summit.
Started up the glacier at 6:30 am, which we figured out later was much too late. This was a busy place, with a lot of large groups heading up to the summit. Nice trip up the glacier...wanded the route in case of white out later.
Base of gulley on summit pyramid was a traffice jam of people heading up and down. Waiting for a large team to all rappel down put us back two hours. Gulley treacherous in places due to soft very steep snow, wet rocks, loose crap being dislodged from above, etc. I had a few 'high tone' moments in the gulley and pushed ahead despite being a bit wigged about it. Made the summit at 3 pm. Clouds swirled around and looked to be creating a potential white out..
Thankfully, another group that summited after us agreed that a double rappel would be the fastest way to get all the people off the summit, so we combined ropes, and descended the gulley with two long rappels as opposed to four.
Great descent......clouds disappeared and then one of the most amazing sunsets I've ever seen on the way down. Arrived at camp just at the moment that headlamps would be necessary.
Great climb, but definitely be prepared for anything, and if you bring rock pro, you could avoid having to deal with the gulley at all and could take the ridge, as suggested in cluck's entry in the summit log. We watched multiple teams trot up and down the ridge while we were still part way up the gulley.
FYI: you must use the composting toilet up at the base of sulphide glacier....a total zen moment to yourself with awe inspiring views of baker from the throne. Not your average backcountry scat experience.
mekwise - Jul 10, 2005 11:32 am
Route Climbed: Fisher Chimneys Date Climbed: July 4th, 2005What a full fun filled day! About 17 hours of hiking, scrambling, glacier crossing and descending back to Lake Ann. We had the full weather experience with great weather most of the day, rain and fog on the summit.
forjan - Jul 7, 2005 4:36 pm
Route Climbed: Sulphide Glacier Date Climbed: July 6, 2005Well, I got a good taste of North Cascades climbing. Hiked with agorokhov and ClimbingSnow. We started from the Shannon Ridge trailhead (2500') just before noon on still partly cloudy skies. Then, half an hour into our approach, clouds started to come in. By the time we reached the North Cascades National Park boundary sign (at ~ 4700') at 3:30pm, clouds were very dark and it started to rain. Then, up the hill to the pass/saddle. Visibility less than 100 yards from here on. More and more rain.....we got quite soaked. We finally & quickly made camp at 6200' (about 50 yards uphill from the toilet). We tried our best to dry out all 3 of us on a small 2-man tent. It was crowded in there with Alex and David. It rained all night long....not only that, then the winds picked up and it howled most of the night. None of us got any sleep at all. By 8:30am next morning, we said f*** it, broke camp and headed down. All 3 of us got even more soaked on the walk-out (it had been raining now for over 20 hours...and was still raining!!) When we reached the trailhead, it looked like the 3 of us came out from a swim with all our clothes on......completely drenched in rain water. Ah.....the fun of North Cascades climbing! Bring several umbrellas!
iluka - May 25, 2005 12:13 pm
Route Climbed: Sulphide Glacier Date Climbed: May 2001We took the coulouir up in the midst of a really hot stretch which left the snow in there quite soft and easy to punch through. Found myself up to my chest in one or two spots but managed to get up and get some great views.
esugi - May 22, 2005 7:23 am
Route Climbed: Sulphide Glacier Date Climbed: 5/14/05Camped at approx. 6000 ft on the glacier. Weather was horrible. Climbed in rain the entire time with visibility often less then 100 ft. Everything we had on were wet. Very soft snow made for tough climbing. We reached the base of summit pyramid (thanks to our GPS) but we wised up and headed back down.
I'll be back in August and hope for better weather next time.
mt_daydream - May 1, 2005 10:34 pm
Route Climbed: Sulphide glacier Date Climbed: April 29-30, 2005Loads of fresh snow after 10 am. We did not bring snowshoes (or skis) and hence had a lengthy slog upto high camp at 6500 ft on the sulphide glacier. Conditions were near perfect the next morning though. Mike and I started for the summit at 3:30 am and had firm snow all the way to the top. It got cloudy and started snowing once we were at the base of the pyramid. Conditions were perfect on the couloir though - firm snow and ice at parts all the way up. Sustained at 45 degrees with several sections of 50-55 degrees. Downclimbing the pyramid was fun!
There were hardly any crevasses on the west end of the Sulphide glacier at this time. The one visible crevasse had a thick snowbridge across.
So, bring snowshoes/skis, and extra ice tool for the summit pyramid, and get a real early start on the summit day.