Climbing Conditions - Mt. Shuksan

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A note on climbing conditions...

Reports come from climbing and wilderness rangers, the voluntary climbing register, and other climbers. To make a climbing report, please email the Wilderness Information Center in Marblemount. Please include the route, snow level, any hazards encountered (or not), peak(s) attempted, and whether your party successfully summitted.

All of the climbing routes in the park complex are located in wilderness, but some are wilder than others, and there may be limited or outdated information. Use these reports as a baseline, but plan for changing conditions and a true adventure. On many routes, the discovery, physical stress, and route-finding challenges are half the fun.

 

Mysterious Mount Shuksan hiding above the Sulphide Glacier Route.

NPS/F. Preston

May 22, 2025
Sulphide Glacier
Mid May delivered quite a bit of new snow on Mount Shuksan, as low as 4000' elevation. The trail is soggy for the first 2+ miles, and there is an abrupt snow line at 4200' elevation. Over a foot of fresh snow has compacted to 6-8" of wet snow that is coating Shuksan from tip to tail. The summit pyramid looks to be a snow climb with little rock showing.
The new snow was beginning to pinwheel off of the steeper slopes between the 5600' notch and the lower bivy site, and we observed some cornice debris on and above the standard route to the bivy site. With warmer weather and full sun in the forecast this new snow may become unstable.
Both the upper and lower bivy sites are completely buried in snow, and the toilet is likely under 10+ feet of snow, so bring your blue bags and be ready for some snow camping.
The Sulphide Glacier route appears to be in nice early season conditions with minimal crevasses showing. This may be deceiving, however, as the blanket of snow might be hiding trap doors.

 

Rangers descending Winnie's Slide using a V-Thread Anchor

NPS/F. Preston

September 17, 2024
Fisher Chimneys
The Fisher Chimneys are in challenging late season conditions but still worth the effort during spells of good weather. Expect blue ice on Winnie's Slide for a pitch, and some steep snow and ice on Hell's Highway for more than a pitch. The summit pyramid is dry rock, but on shaded slopes there was remnant snow from last week's precipitation. If you are headed up after a weather event, expect new snow and ice at any and all elevations, as fall is here.

 

Upper Sulphide Glacier 9/06/24.  The standard route and current bootpack passes through the crevassed area in the photo's center-left.  Other bootpacks show some parties have diverted to climber's right to avoid this area, but there is potential for other large crevasses that are not visible.

T. Denison/NPS

September 6, 2024
Sulphide Glacier
The trail is entirely snow-free to the lower bivy area which has plentiful running water. The upper bivy area may have water in the afternoon but is unlikely to in the morning. There is much exposed rock and ice above the upper bivy area, and the route will almost certainly require travel on ice. The route currently crosses several open, visible crevasses before reaching the top of Hell's Highway. After this the route travels through a very crevassed area and uses several snow bridges, but some parties have rerouted to climber's right to avoid this area. There is no running water reported at the base of the summit pyramid.
Please be aware that the toilet at the lower bivy is closed at this time. Plan on using blue bags for your climb.

 

View of the Sulphide Glacier.

NPS/B. Bracken

September 4, 2024
Sulphide Glacier

The Sulphide Glacier is getting tricky as late season conditions warrant navigation around crevasses, walking on exposed glacier ice, and numerous managment styles.

Please be aware that the toilet at the lower bivy is unusable at this time. Plan on using blue bags for your climb.

 

 

Check out the links below for climbing condition blog posts from previous years:

Climbing Conditions - Mt. Shuksan 2024

Climbing Conditions - Mt. Shuksan 2023

Climbing Conditions - Mt. Shuksan 2022