Shuksan Attempt via the Sulphide Glacier
Mt. Shuksan is a mountain that I long considered so far outside of my skillset and comfort zone that I would never climb it. While the slopes on Shuksan’s south side are lower angle and more approachable, the final ~800’ summit pyramid is steep. It’s a sustained 40 to 50 degrees and even steeper on the final 20’-30’. But, after successfully climbing Garibaldi and expanding my comfort zone skiing steeper slopes, Shuksan suddenly felt more like a possibility. Because I thought I’d never be able to climb the mountain, I avoided even stepping foot on it. I figured why climb 90% of a mountain if I don’t have the skills to make it up the last 10%? This season, I finally felt ready to at least step foot on the mountain, set eyes on the summit pyramid, and assess the terrain for myself.
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The Spearhead Traverse in a Day
The Spearhead Traverse is a route I learned about shortly after getting into backcountry skiing in 2018. It is regarded as one of the most scenic traverses in Canada and has been called the “Haute Route” of North America. The route connects Blackcomb to Whistler by way of a meandering traverse that crosses 11 glaciers, winds around 17 peaks, and travels through some of the most spectacular alpine terrain. It’s about 21 miles, give or take the exact variation one chooses (and there is no shortage of variations from which to choose), and about 5,600’ of gain if you exit via the standard Singing Pass route. Oh, and it also requires at least 21 transitions. It’s no small undertaking physically or technically, so I kept this route in the back of my mind as I accumulated more experience in glacier travel, reading terrain, navigating, and improving my endurance these past few years.
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Garibaldi Redemption
In early April, Sander and I climbed and skied off the summit of Mt. Garibaldi in beautiful British Columbia. It is a peak that Alex and I attempted to ski last season via Brohm Ridge, but we were turned back on that trip by incoming weather about 1,200’ below the summit (trip report here). In my trip report, I wrote that I wasn’t sure I would ever go back to attempt Garibaldi again, and if I did, I certainly would not take the Brohm Ridge approach. Well, less than a year later I did go back, but I was true to my word and did not access it via Brohm Ridge. Instead, Sander and I took the longer but, in my opinion much better, approach via Garibaldi Lake and the Rubble Creek Trailhead.
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Winter in the Baker Backcountry
There isn’t much that compares to the Baker backcountry on a bluebird winter day. A sea of mountains cloaked in white stretching in all directions, dreamy pillow drifts, and, of course, the crown jewel, Mt Baker, dominating the horizon.
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Chasing Winter on the Chilean Volcanoes
At the end of August, Alex and I headed to South America to chase winter in the depths of the US summer and had a blast skiing a couple Chile volcanoes in spring-like conditions. However, this was not our Plan A. (I really need to start keeping track of how often my Plan As fall through because I feel like I write this sentence nearly every other post!) Our Plan A was a hut-to-hut backcountry ski trip outside of Bariloche, specifically this trip from Powder Quest: https://powderquest.com/trips/patagonia-hut-to-hut/. We booked the trip at the end of 2024 and kept our fingers crossed for good conditions. Unfortunately, the region experienced its worst snowpack since 1996.
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A Paradise Classic: The Nisqually Chute
We try to plan a ski trip for every Memorial Day weekend since a long weekend at the end of May lends itself well to big spring ski tours. This year was no exception. We initially set the weekend aside as a potential Rainier summit attempt via the Emmons, but on Thursday the Rainier climbing rangers posted a blog post detailing how sketchy the route currently is. Recent snow created shallow snow bridges over big crevasses, and there were reports of highly capable parties taking their skis off and belaying each other down the most precarious sections. This did not sound like something we wanted to do, so we looked for other options. After quite a bit of waffling, we decided to keep it chill for the weekend and go on a couple of half day ski tours in Mt. Rainier National Park.
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Mt. Garibaldi via Brohm Ridge Attempt
This has been the spring of attempting ski tours that have been on my radar for awhile, but for whatever reason were pushed to the back burner while we prioritized other trips. Mt. Garibaldi, just outside of Squamish, was on that list. Its steep NE face is an alluring ski line and the surrounding Coast Mountains make it a beautiful tour.
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Sahale Spring Ski Tour
I’ve visited Sahale twice in the past, once in fall and once in summer and on both those trips I marveled at the views, but I also wondered what the area looks like blanketed in snow. I put the idea of a Sahale ski tour in the back of my mind and waited for the right conditions. Our friends Adam and Meredith own a property on Cascade River Road and Adam mentioned earlier this year that he really wanted to ski Sahale too, so we put it at the top of our list and waited for a good forecast. This past weekend was forecasted to be favorable, clear skies at night to ensure a solid refreeze and sunny during the day for (fingers crossed) good corn. After years of Sahale being an idea in the back of our minds, it was finally going to become a reality.
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Middle Sister Up and Over
This past weekend Alex and I made a bit of a last minute decision to drive all the way to Sisters, OR to climb and ski Middle Sister. We had this tour slated as a potential Memorial Day trip, but when all of Washington looked gloomy over the weekend, I searched for sunnier locations. There was always the option of staying home and having a chill weekend, especially after being in Alaska the previous two weekends, but spring ski season is short and if we could get out there, I wanted to get out there.
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Thompson Pass - Stairway Chutes
Our overall gloomy weather with brief windows in Thompson Pass continued on Friday, and our group decided to take advantage of it and head out on another bigger tour. This time we had our sights set on Stairway Chutes. Just 2,000' from Highway 4 lies a cirque encased in couloirs and chutes. To the east is the imposing Mt. Dimond, with steep couloirs pouring off its flanks and to the west is the area known as the Stairway Chutes. Much of the rock near Thompson Pass is tilted on an edge, creating stacked lines of perfect chutes of differing difficulties. Some are narrower, some are shorter, some are wider, some are STEEP.
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