We snuck in a quick weekend attack on Mount Shuksan, in the North Cascades National Park, Washington. Shuksan was described to me as a “little mountain with big mountain terrain,” which I think is apt. Although the summit is not high, the climb packs quite a punch.

Shuksan Climb Fisher Chimneys September

Trip Dates: Sep 16-17, 2023
Summit: Mount Shuksan, 9,127 ft (2,787 meters)
Route: Fisher Chimneys (PD, 4th class/low fifth class rock, AI2)
Length: Roughly 16 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain/Loss: No idea. A lot.
Summary: A long and varied route that throws a little bit of everything at you, including ice climbing, camping, glacier travel, and easy rock climbing.

I was invited to Shuksan by my friend Mackenzie, who was training for a trip to Bolivia. (She should be there right now!) I knew almost nothing of the mountain, but had spent all summer in Peru doing similar mountaineering, and figured I could handle it.

“I was thinking about who likes suffering,” she told me when we met at the trailhead, 3 hours north of Seattle. “And you were the only guy I could think of.”

Thanks, Mack.

The climb was undoubtedly a suffer-fest, mostly due to the length, which is about 16 miles roundtrip, and usually requires one or two nights camping. We climbed in a group of five and completed the route in two days, Seattle-to-Seattle, with an overnight camp at the base of Winnie’s Slide. Amazingly, we had great weather and the mountain to ourselves.

Route Overview

I have described the route in natural segments, due to the changing character and challenges of each section. I think this is the simplest way to describe the climb.

Starting Point: You begin the climb of the Fisher Chimneys at the Lake Ann Trailhead, located right at the Mount Baker Ski Area. We found the parking quite full at midmorning Saturday.

Trailhead-Lake Ann (hiking): Hiking on an established trail, with some significant elevation gain and loss, as you descend and climb out of a couple valleys. Camping at Lake Ann is an option. This segment can also be done as a standalone hike: https://www.mountaineers.org/activities/routes-places/lake-ann-mount-shuksan

Lake Ann-Winnie’s Slide (Fisher Chimneys) (4th class rock climbing): Fourth-class scrambling/rock climbing up a series of heather ledges. Most parties should not need to rope up for these sections, although there are rappel anchors in place for descent (and ascent) if not necessary. You will gain roughly 1,000 ft (~300m) of elevation in this section. There are campsites available both above and below Winnie’s Slide. Water is more reliable above, and the views are better. We camped below, because we didn’t want to do technical ice climbing with our large overnight packs.

Winnie’s Slide (AI2 ice climbing): We found 60ish meters of hard ice on Winnie’s Slide. It wasn’t difficult, about AI2, but required frontpointing technique on the way up and two rappels on the way down. We had to get a little creative with the rappels, as the fixed anchors in the rock were inaccessible due to a huge moat which had formed between the glacier and the rock.

Upper Curtis Glacier-Hell’s Highway (glacier walk): This section is just glacier walking. The Upper Curtis Glacier was pretty broken up in the compression zone directly above Winnie’s Slide, but once we exited that zone, it presented no problems until we reached the base of Hell’s Highway.

Hell’s Highway (AI2 ice climbing): The second technical crux of the route, Hell’s Highway offered a bunch of crevasses at the bottom, and maybe 40-50 meters more of ice climbing on the way up. We ascended on climber’s right, the steepest line but also the least crevassed. This was simple, one ice screw and one picket up top to belay off of. To descend, we t-slotted a rock and rappelled off that. A small amount of downclimbing was required. Above Hell’s Highway you arrive on the Sulphide Glacier.

Sulphide Glacier-Summit Pyramid (glacier walk): This glacier was fairly crevassed, although many of them seemed quite small. We went through one large crevasse field which we could probably have circumnavigated. Approaching the summit pyramid there was a series of long and deep transverse crevasses, navigable with a little bit of back and forth.

Shuksan Summit Pyramid (4th class/low 5th class rock climbing): Looking at photos of the summit pyramid from other climbs, it’s clear that much of what we climbed is usually covered in snow and ice. That tracks, since the transition area where we stepped off the glacier was pure, loose choss. We free soloed the right side skyline for a while (5th class), before rappelling off and traversing left into the traditional gullies. From there the climbing is continuous fourth class, with good exposure but also super solid rock and easy routefinding. Despite having been repeatedly warned not to underestimate the summit pyramid, this section was bigger and longer than I expected! Rappel anchors were in place to belay the ascent or facilitate descent, but we downclimbed without using them, which wasn’t too sketchy.

Glacier Conditions

Conditions on the glacier were generally dry, as you would expect, but not too crazy. Most crevasses were easily crossable or avoidable.

Many of the snow bridges had collapsed or looked in poor shape, but we were able to walk around these in most cases. Smart routefinding will ease your troubles significantly here. There was not often a bootpack for use to follow, so we were not led astray by any old tracks.

Closing Questions

Would I Climb This Route Again? No – too long. But I would do a different route on Shuksan, like the Price Glacier, the Hourglass, or the Nooksack Tower.
Was It Worth It? Absolutely.
Was It Sketchy Late Season? Not really. I was pretty surprised we were the only people on the mountain.
What Was The Best Part? The maze of crevasses we crossed on the Sulphide Glacier. The bits of the direct ridge on the summit pyramid which we did climb were pretty fun too.
Who Would I Recommend This Climb For? Beginner/Intermediate mountaineers who are looking to build a well-rounded skillset for the mountains. There’s nothing too technically challenging on this route, but you are required to be comfortable in a variety of situations, and manage the transitions efficiently.
What’s The Guidebook? Fred Beckey Cascade Alpine Guide Vol. 3

Final Thought

This was my eighth multi-day glaciated peak this summer, and the lesson has been clear. Mountaineering is about suffering.

If you are considering a late-season climb of Shuksan, the NPS posts fairly regular conditions updates here: https://www.nps.gov/noca/blogs/climbing-conditions-mt-shuksan.htm

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