Figured I’d post up this trip report for a few reasons. Firstly, it felt like a nice story with a good theme of growth. Secondly, I appreciate this site and want it to continue to thrive. I look at it before every climb. Facebook doesn’t have the soul, nwhikers has hikers and I’m a little elitist, and TAY has a Price Glacier TR that I can’t compete with. I also see myself as more of a climber than a skier, even if this particular adventure was more ski focused. Lastly, I have college apps coming up(UW please accept me), might as well get a little reflective writing practice going. Might as well try and channel my inner Mark Twight. I don’t dream of being eaten alive by rats but I listen to Joy Division if that helps.
Mount Stuart, particularly Ulrichs, holds a special place for me because it was the first big backcountry line I wanted to ski. Reading the Kyle Miller trip report back as a freshman opened my eyes to how rad backcountry skiing could get. It called my name and got me obsessed with the sport. From there I convinced a friend at school to get a setup and in late May of that year I asked my parents to let us ski Ulrichs. It was a good thing they said no. I’m not sure my sleeping bag was warm enough, our available backpacks big enough, and our minds were definitely not experienced enough. I held a small grudge after that but looking back, it was a wise decision from them. Since then I’ve had a good amount of time to develop my skills in the alpine. I’m probably still a cocky overstoked youngin but at least I’m one with a tiny bit of experience behind me.
With my spring break coming up, I hit up Emily about some touring. This current high pressure system is allowing great climbing conditions but we figured we’d hit Ulrichs on sunday before using Monday as a rest day and grabbing the isolation traverse Tuesday -> Thursday. After a relaxing Saturday, I drove up late Saturday Night, reaching the end of the drivable road at around 11. I quickly got to bed with my alarm set for 02:30.
02:30 came quickly and by 03:00, the crew of Emily, Erik, Pat, and I were starting up the sleds. Emily’s old sled had some trouble with the choke, but by 03:15 we had it all loaded up and were moving. Bumping our way down the Teanaway at three in the morning, I was proud when I realized it felt like a pretty normal weekend. It’s been my intent to get after as much as possible, so the lack of novelty I felt while making our way in the full-moon while most everybody was sleeping was something I was proud of. The back of the sled wasn’t the most comfortable ride but 45 minutes later, we reached the trailhead.
After taking some time to get sorted out(the bathroom is unlocked but BYOTP btw), we were moving at 04:15. We followed some timbersled tracks a good ways before realizing we were too far climbers-left and traversing over right. The snow was hard but we were able to get purchase without putting on ski crampons. After a short little boot to Longs Pass, we had a nice view of Stuart in the morning light. Cornices loomed on the Stuart Side but there was an easy way through. With the bright moonlight we were able to ride down the firm slopes to ingalls creek. From here we decided to go straight to booting, which, with the steep firm slopes, proved to be a decent call.
I’ve done Stuart twice before(1x north ridge, 1x Cascadian) so it wasn’t my first time on the Cascadian. For me, it’s just a slog I need to embrace and get into the groove for. Eventually the guide-stepping got me in the flow and we were making good pace. By 10:00, we were at the col below the false summit. With the wind starting to pick up, Erik and Pat took out their Wings and decided to fly down from there. Emily and I were still on boards so we gave them a radio and worked our way up towards the summit. On this slope, the snow had reached a pretty good corn. It still felt safe to boot though, we just took caution to not sit in the fall-line as the sun warmed up the slopes above us.
The final traverse to the true summit is what many people consider to be a crux in the winter. The climbing felt secure yet the steep cliffs below put things into perspective. Eventually we got to the final snow slope below the true summit. By now the snow was getting very warm and balling up on my crampons. I kept kicking in steps, having to wack snow off every minute. Though the snow was warm, the lack of roller-balls was reassuring and by noon, we were at the true summit.
We didn’t waste anytime to begin our descent. The snow up top was soft with variable underneath. Once we got in the couloir it was all frozen up but we decided to continue on with a lot of side slipping. Looking back, I was glad I didn’t ski this line two years ago. With steep, sustained, icy slopes, it demanded lots of control. I’ve been able to get a better sense of my limits in the past years, but riding this line two years ago would’ve been much more uncertain. We ended up escaping a little before the correct exit and being shot back into the couloir. There was minimal booting to get out of the real couloir before the waterfall. From the creek it was a nice climb back up to Longs where we met Erik and Pat, enjoying great corn back to the snowmobile at 15:00, 11 hours after starting.
By 6pm, I was back home in seattle making dinner. When I was just about to start eating I looked on instagram and saw Colin Haley’s story about selling gear in seattle. I immediately left my nice warm noodles to go get a Petzl Gully and a few lockers. While this trip gave me a sense of the experience I’ve already gained in the mountains, it was a great reminder of how young and inexperienced I still am.
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