Glacier Peak - Suiattle Glacier

 Day 1

I’ve been putting off writing this trip report for a while but with school now starting, I figure it’s a good time. Glacier Peak is probably the hardest Volcano in the state. With a horrible approach and it’s wilderness nature, most parties do it in three days. Keenan and I planned to make the most of the alpine snow by hitting it as soon as we got out of school. The approach consists of 13 miles of walking along the North Fork Sauk river and 4000’ of climbing up to white pass. Because of this, we planned to do it as a three day trip, giving us a somewhat relaxing schedule.

Glacier Peak

Keenan picked me up in Seattle at 07:00 on Thursday and by 10:00, we were at the trailhead with our loaded 55lb packs. As we started up the trail, minimal blowdowns let us keep a good pace along the river. We ran into 3 parties who summited the day before, exchanging reports of great alpine conditions. As the switchbacks started, Keenan slowed but we still maintained a good pace. Halfway up the switchbacks, military planes came soaring close above us. It’s pretty surreal being far out in the wilderness when these modern planes come sweeping above the treeline. 2000’ of switchbacks, we got to the traverse over to White Pass, where many snow patches slowed us down and wet our socks. Cute marmots on rocks made it tolerable.

Marmots chillin on the way up white pass

At 16:00, we arrived at White Pass. Skinnable snow started here and we put on skins to traverse over the rest of Marmot Knob. Taking the boots and skis off our packs made them feel luxuriously light, even though they were still a solid 45lb. From there we skied into the basin our whole world turned into snow and rock. It’s a surreal feeling, being in such an enclosed alpine environment, and one I hope to experience more. At 19:30, we decided to call it a day. Our reasons were that we’d be able to go about our camp rituals in the light, It’d give us more time skiing without overnight packs, we were near a nice bivy spot, and obviously we were tired

Keenan in the basin

Me and Glacier Peak

Setting up camp went smoothly. The snow was great for ski anchors and while our tent was cozy, it still provided enough space. After some quick water boiling and a great mountain house dinner, we tucked ourselves away in preparation for an early start the next morning. Forecasts showed lots of new snowfall the next night so we decided to move camp to white pass the next day.With alarms set for 01:30, we readied our bags and tried to get some rest.

Day 2

01:30 came quickly. After some oatmeal and piling some snow on the tent to keep it from blowing away, we were skinning by 02:00. Getting to Glacier Gap went quickly and we were soon descending onto the Gerdine Glacier as the first traces of light shown across the horizon. There were clouds down low but we could see the peak and hoped for a beautiful day. From here, we skin up to Disappointment Col was sloggy but beautiful. Keenan started to drag behind but we continued upward. At Disappointment Col, my bowel system started to act up. With gusts of 30mph, I got out the wag bag. You can probably imagine the struggles without me describing it but needless to say, I was glad it was all out and it wasn’t an experience I’d like to repeat.

Glacier Peak from Glacier Gap Peak Col

Keenan working his way up the glacier

Above us was clouds but with a long time until our turnaround we continued up. Once we made it to the Disappointment-Glacier Col, we found ourselves in a brutal wind tunnel. Scared at the thought of booting up with sails on our backs and skiing down ice with brutal gusts that had the potential to knock us over, we left our skis at the Col and booted up. Within an hour, we were on the summit in a whiteout.

It got pretty cold, me in my alpine action suit

Final few feet to the summit

Summit Selfy

After a few summit photos, with knowledge of the rest of the day, we quickly descended down to our skis. Since the sun didn’t come out, the skiing was icy and slow. However, it was still faster than walking and we got down. After a boot back up to glacier Gap, it was a quick ski back to camp. We packed up quickly and with heavy backs, started the skin back to White pass at 14:00. The slope up to the Marmot Knob traverse was brutal, but at 16:30, we got to white pass.

Keenan doing some shitty skiing

At white pass, we decided to get all the way back to the trailhead. Though it would’ve been safe to camp there, the next day would be very wet and rainy. We decided instead to try to make it all the way back to the trailhead. We turned our heads down and worked our way down white pass. The descent went quicker than expected and from there it was just a long walk out. We made a great pace and while the last mile felt endless, got out at 21:30 to the cars. Here we discovered a flat tire and after being harassed by mosquitos,  started the drive back. 

Almost to white pass

Glacier Peak truly shows Washington's wilderness. I can’t imagine another place in the lower 48 where one can feel so separated from civilization. I’m profoundly grateful to live in such a beautiful state and hope that many of my friends can one day share similar experiences.