This story happened back around 1977 or thereabouts. The old Desert Mountaineer (although he didn’t go by that handle in those days) and I had been climbing up a storm. We decided to climb Mt Shuksan, which has actually been distinguished as one of the most photogenic mountains in America. I’ll admit that it does have a very classical look about it to be sure.
One of the insulting things about going in to climb the peak from the approach we took is that you actually have to lose a considerable amount of elevation from the trailhead. It weighs on you because you know that you are going to have to slog back up that bit at the very end of your trip.
You drive to the Mt Baker ski area and start from there just above treeline; Drop down to Lake Anne then back up to the high country where you typically make camp if you are doing it as an overnight climb, although it can easily be done in a day if you are fit and motivated; just be prepared to suffer a bit.
We camped in the usual climber’s camp if I recall correctly, and struck out for the summit early the following morning as is customary. After some gentle side-hill hiking we found ourselves at the base of the Fisher Chimneys. Not chimneys in the classical climbing sense but more like a series of precipitous and loose class three gullies. The scramble up them is not very hard but there are spots that you wouldn’t want to slip on, and there has been the odd accident and even fatalities in this section.
We exited the chimneys onto the Lower Curtis Glacier from there we wandered more or less northward and eventually arrive on the Upper Curtis Glacier through mostly easy slogging. Once parties arrive here they need to make a decision as to which route to take to the summit; and there are two major options to choose from. Option one is quaintly known as ‘Hells Highway’. This forces the climber back south to skirt around the Southwest Ridge of the peak and onto the upper Crystal Glacier. It’s called Hells Highway because of the numerous hidden crevasses in the area. The other main option is known as ‘The Hourglass’. As you probably gather, an hourglass shaped feature that is nevé or ice depending upon season and conditions. It is on the Northwest aspect of the aforementioned Southwest Ridge. It is steeper but a much quicker alternative.
We chose the latter for our attempt. A problem soon became apparent as we started up the hourglass, and that was; there was a party ahead of us in the couloir, and they were knocking down a considerable amount of ice. Not their fault or anything, but not ideal nor safe to be following under. We couldn’t afford the luxury of waiting and we had already gained elevation to get to this point so were not in the mood to go back to Hells Highway, especially since we were planning to descend that way; we wanted to minimise our crevasse exposure. Well, we did the most logical thing and we un-roped, took on effected and outrageous Scottish accents and started to climb the steep sidewalls of the Hourglass and up the side of the Southwest Ridge. At least we were out of the fall line of those other climbers. I vividly remember this climb because I was getting pretty gripped. In fact I was really scared; like a wee bairn I was. The exposure was pretty high and the rock was marginal at best. One slip and it would have been game over, and by this point we were totally committed and the only real escape was up. Eventually the difficulties eased and we crested the ridge to flat terrain where we roped up again to take the Sulphide Glacier over to the summit ridge; which is a sort of South ridge. The ridge itself is pretty short and very enjoyable blocky third class slightly exposed climbing.
It was great summit, offering fantastic views of Mt Baker. But as usual the meter was running and we needed to get outta Dodge. The descent was uneventful until we were back on the upper Curtis Glacier where we each punched through a hidden crevasse. I went into my crotch level but stopped there. Holy smokes that was close and sure got the heart pumping. That was my very first time I ever stepped into a crevasse like that. We kept our eyes doubly peeled on the rest of the glacier and were soon picking our way down the steep rubble of the chimneys and thus made our way back to camp without further incident or issue.
Ah yes, ’twas a fine climb indeed, on that sunny day, long. long ago. Thanks for bringing back memories of that excellent day.
A bonny fine tale that, like Mr. Desert Mountaineer, brings back long ago memories of Mt. Shuksan, and a memorable hike out in my underwear. Aye, tis true.
Well then… If tis true as you claim then it sounds like a tale worth re-telling in all its splendor. Let the wind blow high, let the wind blow low, down the trail in me kilt I’ll go. And the lassies all shout where ere I go “William where’s your trousers?”