Mount Shuksan, Fisher Chimneys to the SE Ridge
The view of Shuksan is so iconic that I once saw it on a tourism poster - for Nepal!
I spent this weekend climbing two routes back to back with Ross and Joe: Fisher Chimneys to the South East Summit Ridge and then the North Face from the White Salmon Glacier approach! The Fisher Chinbeys are in great shape. Completely snow free, it features four 15m steep steps, a ton on scrambling, and even more exposure. Tripping, slipping or stumbling along most of the chimneys unroped would be damaging or even fatal. Just a short walk from the top of the Chimneys is the Winnie’s Slide Lower Bivy, good for 5-6 tents and a handful of solo bivies. Just up the snow slope to the small Col is the Upper Bivy, which can fit another 5 tents. Both have running water by mid to late July.
From here, the summit is reachable from three routes, the NW Face, the North Ridge, and the SE Ridge. The NW Face is notoriously loose even by Cascade standards and has seen several accidents and near misses by climbers and guides I know and respect. I can’t recommend it. The North Ridge is an alpine adventure that doesn’t see frequent ascents but is the logical finish to the North Face. It does have some manageable looseness that locals will be comfortable with and visitors from the Sierra will find alarming (that’s a joke folks, but not inaccurate). The summit SE Ridge is the most common ascent line, and can also be reached from the Sulfide Glacier approach. From the Fisher Chimneys, we crossed up and over the Upper Curtis to Hell’s Highway.
Up Hell’s Highway leads to the Sulfide Glacier, and a short walk later leads to the summit pyramid. Here again, in the winter it’s possible to climb right up the snow gully. But by the end June it’s melted out enough to make the SE Ridge more attractive. I find it best to manage the ridge in 15m bites and save the rest of my rope for the descent. There are plenty of opportunities to pass slower teams without risk, and staying right on the ridge makes it an awesome climb throughout. From the summit, a short scramble down the SW ridge leads to two rappel stations into the gully. Scrambling down and across the gully leads to a third station, then a short scramble puts you on the snowfield at the bottom of the pyramid.
This is a reasonable two-day climb with a morning start on the first day and an alpine start on day two. Don’t underestimate the exit - you still have to descend the Chimneys and then hike back to the car!
