White Chuck Mountain *kitten* Show (pics)
NorthCascades
Posts: 10,970 Member
A friend suggested White Chuck this spring, and it sounded like a nice day. It's been on my list for almost half a year. When another friend got wind of the idea, she got excited about it and championed a plan, which came to fruition Sunday. Initially we thought this would be a walk in the park, until a recent trip report talked about how the route is eroding, it's much worse than it was a year ago and will be gone in a few more. We decided to get while the getting was good.
Even the drive was beautiful. The trail is very short and ends in a meadow; we started climbing a gully from here. It was loose, steep, and exposed, but fun, and where there were plants, most were one type of flower or another.
Once we got above the glacier, it got real airy. From what little info we could find, we expected a few moves with a drop below, in reality it was more than a mile on bad ground above cliffs. Very unforgiving. Part of it was crumbly dirt and loose rock, part was good solid slabs, with pebbles here and there to trip you. All of it, if you started to fall, you wouldn't be able to stop yourself. For a while it was up in one direction and down the other, until the up started running out and it was down in every direction.
I wanted to be on belay for this, but it was basically unprotectable. I brought 30 meter rope and a pack full of nuts, hexes, bolts, etc; only Camelots would work, and even then it was several rope lengths between cracks that would accept them. I thought about my asthmatic kitty (she needs her inhaler today, it's a fight, who else will do this for her?) and got tired of it, turned around just before the summit. I'm not very good at this peak bagging thing lately.
I waited above the glacier for my friends with a mountain goat. Glaciers "do it for me" in a big way, and I was happy on my perch. It wasn't long until they returned, we started back down, everybody was a bit tired. We followed a sucker gully and got cliffed out, this is when Veronica told us that if we don't get back to somewhere with reception by 7 pm SAR was coming for us. We barely made it in time, got to a burger joint in Darrington at 7:02 that closed at 7.
About to start the climb:
Gully, Stillaguamish Valley behind us.
Veronica ascending the meadow.
Hi Sloan Peak! You look formidable today.
The west summit.
White Chuck Glacier
Yours truly.
Nick ascending the slabs.
It's a long drop. The meadow is about 1,200 feet below at this point, you'd "only" fall about 500 before hitting some rocks.
Time to go. I've never fully trusted Camelots, and they were the only protection I could use. One is a micro-cam. Sketchy as *kitten*. (Nick chose to downclimb, and cleaned the anchor.)
I'm enjoying my prize, with a mountain goat nearby.
An eagle soaring over the Stilly G Valley and Whitehorse Mountain.
Even the drive was beautiful. The trail is very short and ends in a meadow; we started climbing a gully from here. It was loose, steep, and exposed, but fun, and where there were plants, most were one type of flower or another.
Once we got above the glacier, it got real airy. From what little info we could find, we expected a few moves with a drop below, in reality it was more than a mile on bad ground above cliffs. Very unforgiving. Part of it was crumbly dirt and loose rock, part was good solid slabs, with pebbles here and there to trip you. All of it, if you started to fall, you wouldn't be able to stop yourself. For a while it was up in one direction and down the other, until the up started running out and it was down in every direction.
I wanted to be on belay for this, but it was basically unprotectable. I brought 30 meter rope and a pack full of nuts, hexes, bolts, etc; only Camelots would work, and even then it was several rope lengths between cracks that would accept them. I thought about my asthmatic kitty (she needs her inhaler today, it's a fight, who else will do this for her?) and got tired of it, turned around just before the summit. I'm not very good at this peak bagging thing lately.
I waited above the glacier for my friends with a mountain goat. Glaciers "do it for me" in a big way, and I was happy on my perch. It wasn't long until they returned, we started back down, everybody was a bit tired. We followed a sucker gully and got cliffed out, this is when Veronica told us that if we don't get back to somewhere with reception by 7 pm SAR was coming for us. We barely made it in time, got to a burger joint in Darrington at 7:02 that closed at 7.
About to start the climb:
Gully, Stillaguamish Valley behind us.
Veronica ascending the meadow.
Hi Sloan Peak! You look formidable today.
The west summit.
White Chuck Glacier
Yours truly.
Nick ascending the slabs.
It's a long drop. The meadow is about 1,200 feet below at this point, you'd "only" fall about 500 before hitting some rocks.
Time to go. I've never fully trusted Camelots, and they were the only protection I could use. One is a micro-cam. Sketchy as *kitten*. (Nick chose to downclimb, and cleaned the anchor.)
I'm enjoying my prize, with a mountain goat nearby.
An eagle soaring over the Stilly G Valley and Whitehorse Mountain.
16
Replies
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Breath-taking, as usual!1
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You are one heck of an inspirational guy on so many fronts.
Excellent photography, always.
Cheers, h.1 -
You sure find the beautiful spots! Stay safe!!1
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stunning photography, as always - although that photo of your feet sticking out over that drop is scary!1 -
beautiful1
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Beautiful and Yikes.
No smoke, so that's a great thing. I'm so grateful we were spared this year.1 -
Beautiful area you live in.1
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cmriverside wrote: »Beautiful and Yikes.
No smoke, so that's a great thing. I'm so grateful we were spared this year.
I know, right? I spent the last two Augusts bring depressed and trying not to breathe.1 -
Clicked for kitten pictures. Was not disappointed.1
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