Entries from North Cascades
We had a mixed bag of weather this trip: some sunshine, some rain, some thunder, some lightning. A strong low pressure system moving in from the south has been causing heavy rain and flash flooding in Oregon and Washington, but we were able to squeak in an enjoyable climb today. We climbed from our bivy sight at 5,700' on Mt. Shuksan, climbed up through the Fisher Chimneys, on to the White Salmon Glacier, up Winnie's Slide, onto the Upper Curtis Glacier, up Hell's Highway, and onto the Sulphide Glacier before weather forced our hand and we headed back down to camp. We had a full day of climbing, and almost got to the top. Now we're back in our tents, safe, dry, and content, listening to the rain. The squirrelly weather did provide us with this beautiful sunset last night though!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Hi all,
Well we lucked out with the weather yesterday and made the summit of Mt Shuksan. If you had asked me our chances of climbing yesterday morning I would have said not good. The sky was very dark with heavy clouds hanging all around the summit, but as we started climbing they seemed to dissipate. Kirk and Harry did a great job despite being a bit nervous about the rock climbing necessary for the summit pyramid. We left our camp at around 7:30 AM and found ourselves smiling on the summit by 12:30. All in all a great day.
Today we are resting and recovering during the intermittent rain showers and will hopefully get some more training in when we can.
That's all for now,
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens and Team
12:30 p.m. PST : RMI Guide Geoff Schellens just called into RMI to let everyone know the team reached the summit of Mt. Shuksan at 9,127'! Geoff Reported that the sky was dark and cloudy with a few sprinkles, but the rocks were relatively dry. The team has started their descent and will report when they are back their base camp. The have another day of training planned before heading out of the North Cascade Range on Friday.
Congratulations Team!
Posted by: Geoff Schellens
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
September 3, 2013 AM
Hi all! Kirk, Harry, and I had a very nice hike into the low bivy site on Mt. Shuksan yesterday; partly cloudy, but completely dry. Last night we had a few light showers and then it opened up on us this morning around 8 - 9 a.m. It has given us a little reprieve but is now starting to rain again. We're relaxing in tents and hoping for another break this afternoon so we can get some training in. Everyone is in good spirits despite the weather and some wet boots from this mornings rain storm. Thanks for checking in!
September 3, 2013 PM
Our hopes came true! The weather broke this afternoon and we were able to get outside and get some training in. We're taking a break right now but will head back out and take advantage of the dry weather and train some more. The forecasts predicts decent weather for tomorrow so we may try to climb. I'll keep you posted on our that goes. We'll check in again tomorrow!
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
Glad to hear you are out and about because we all know camping is in-tents! Love to you all
Posted by: Beth on 9/3/2013 at 5:52 pm
Jeff and I had a great day yesterday. We climbed from Lake Ann up through the Fisher Chimneys and established camp at the edge of the Upper Curtis. After a nice long lunch, we packed our light summit packs and headed out. We reached the summit via the Southeast ridge at about 4:50pm, and had it all to ourselves. We arrived back at camp at around 7:25 last night. Today we'll likely do some ice climbing this morning before packing up camp and heading back down through the Chimneys. But first, it's coffee time!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Posted by: Geoff Schellens
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
We were hoping for a break in the weather as today was our last chance for a Mt. Shuksan summit bid, instead we got more rain. It's one of the dice we roll when spending time in the mountains. Whatever our weather, Joy and Jim are still laughing and having fun. The rain has been steady all day today and even breakfast had to be made in the vestibule of the tent. We are hoping to see a weather break or two for our hike out tomorrow.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
Posted by: Geoff Schellens
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Hi All,
Well, Jim, Joy, and I were hoping to climb Shuksan today but the weather once again thwarted our summit attempt. It rained hard all through the night and intermittently this morning. We had a nice breakfast between showers and then hopped back in tents for the better part of the morning. We emerged from our tents around 10:30 to find threatening clouds bearing down on us but as it was not raining at that moment we decided to do some more training. That has become our motto on this seminar, "Let's do some training until it starts raining". After going through crevasse rescue practice and a lunch break the weather kept holding for us so we got in some great ice climbing and fixed line training. During dinner we watched as the clouds appeared to be breaking up and patches of blue sky made their way towards us. Tonight we are all sleeping with fingers crossed that we get our chance to climb tomorrow. That's all for now. Thanks for checking in.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
FLOS3 sends best wishes and we hope the rain stops!
From (also rainy) Boonton, NJ, elevation 397 Feet :)
Posted by: Stef + Trish on 8/29/2013 at 5:45 am
Rain, rain go away…. Glad to hear there are breaks and you have been able to train.
The summit is calling down everyone’s name, so positive thinking that Thursday is the day to get up there!
Posted by: Jann on 8/28/2013 at 10:26 pm
Posted by: Geoff Schellens
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Hi all,
Jim, Joy, and I had a great day of training today despite some very ominous looking clouds- the rain held off until about 4 pm. We did some good crampon review, self-arrest and team-arrest practice, as well as rope travel on glaciers and lastly climbing on rock. I think Jim and Joy enjoyed the rock climbing practice the most. Now we are in our tents again waiting for the rain to stop so we can hopefully get an anchor building lesson in before dinner and then bed. We will try to climb tomorrow if we get the weather for it; otherwise, we have Thursday to fall back on. We are all having a great time despite the rain, and spirits are still high. Jim and Joy are laughing right through the bad weather. That's all for now.
Thanks for checking in on us.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
Jim and Joy you guys are awesome! Sounds like you are working hard yet having fun! Can’t wait to hear this from your perspective and see some photos!
Enjoy!
Posted by: Jordan on 8/28/2013 at 10:03 am
Hi all
Joy, Jim, and I are enjoying a restful day here at the lower bivy camp (6,200') on Mt. Shuksan. We have accomplished some training in between showers, spirits are high and everyone is having a good time. Forced tent time is notorious on any long climb and such skills as "sport eating" and "competitive napping" are worth being good at, and we have practiced both today. We are hoping for better weather tomorrow for more training and to move camp higher on the mountain.
Thanks to everyone for checking in.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
Thanks for the updates. As Joy well knows I like to follow her hikes and treks when possible.
Thinking of you all each day.
Posted by: Jann on 8/27/2013 at 9:34 am
Posted by: Geoff Schellens
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Hi all,
Had a great first day on the Mt. Shuksan 6-day Denali Prep course. Jim and Joy showed up prepared and ready to go. After a gear check, and another cup of coffee, we headed out of town to the Shannon Ridge trail head. We started up the trail with sun on our shoulders, laughing about the 30% chance of rain. After a couple hours hiking we left the trees behind and enjoyed great views of Mt. Baker. With these views, however, also came the end of our laughter as we noticed dark clouds approaching. Though we did get a light rain in the last 1/2 hour before getting to the low bivy camp site, we had a great day. Jim and Joy are in good spirits and staying dry in there tent, currently discussing dinner options. We'll see what the weather gods have in store for us tomorrow.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
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Congratulations! Can’t wait to hear about your adventure. Always.
Posted by: Beth on 9/4/2013 at 5:59 pm
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