8,705 feet
Colchuck Glacier, Grade II, 35° snow
- Gear Used:
- ice axe
- crampons
May 27-28, 2007
8,705 feet
The Approach
Dyalan and I made it to the Stuart Lake trail head at about noon on Sunday. I new it would be crowded being memorial day weekend but I didn't think that we would have an issue finding a place to park! The whole lot was packed and after driving around for a minute we decided to just pull over and make our own parking spot.
There was an exciting buzz going around as everyone was packing there ropes and crampons with hopes of fun climb. Being the first big weekend of the year I'm sure it was the first adventure of 2007 for many. Dylan and I packed our gear and hit the trail
The Colchuck Lake trail is pretty mild and a fit party could probably do it in about an hour and a half. We made decent time as we hit the lake in about 2 hours. The trail was completely snow free and there were a few patches at the lake but for the most part it is snow free. We took a quick break at the lake before we continued on to the other side.
We walked around the lake and eventually found a spot to set up the tent in the rock basin under Colchuck and Dragontail. We decided to see how far we could get up the glacier and started kicking our way up the moraine.
Dylan hiking the moraine.
Taking a break at the top of the moraine.
We made it to the moraine in about 45 minutes a took a break to admire the amazing peaks that we were surrounded by. We admired the North Buttress Couloir rout which was our planned route for tomorrow. It looked really fun and steep and I couldn't wait to check it out in the morning. We hiked another 500+ feet before we decided to turn around and save our energy for tomorrow. We made great time on the descent since all you have to do is sit down and slide down the butt path of others.
Our camp at about 5600 feet.
The Climb
I'm pretty bad at alpine starts. Even though I know that we should get up early to get the right snow conditions, I just can't. I think we woke up at about 8am. Dylan was basically outside the tent making enough noise to keep my awake. I eventually stumbled out of the tent and prepared for the climb.
Dylan hiking up the moraine (again).
We followed a party of 6 up the moraine so we made good time taking advantage of the hard snow and packed trail. Our first step off of the moraine and onto the snow was a bad sign for us. It was very slushy and wet. We headed toward the couloir thinking about how hard it is going to be sinking in the wet snow ever other step. I climbed up to the first bottle neck with not much improvement in the conditions and considering our experience we decided to turn around. It was pretty disappointing but I think it was the right choice for us.
Crossing the snout of the glacier.
To get back to the Colchuck Glacier route we traversed the glacier snout and climbed a steep chute to the main route. This was a great detour with some fun and exposed steep climbing.
Climbing the steep couloir to reach the Colchuck Glacier.
Once we reached the actually glacier route it was easy one step in front of the other climbing. There is a solid boot pack the whole way.
Dylan hiking the gentle slopes of the glacier.
We made it to the col in about 2 hours and continued to the summit. The summit plateau of Colchuck is huge. It's about another 700 vertical to get to the actually summit. It's easy climbing up wet snow and rock but is very easy.
Reaching the col at 8100 feet.
Climbing the backside slopes to reach the summit.
Climbers on the summit of Colchuck Peak.
Once on the summit the views of Mt. Stuart and the face of Dragontail were amazing. We were sharing the summit with at least 10 other people but the crowds were not so distracting.
Me enjoying my first glimpse into the north face of mt. stuart.
Mt. Stuart from the summit.
Dylan's summit shot.
Mt. Rainier.
It took us maybe 10 minutes to get back to camp since you can slide down on your butt the whole time. We packed our packs and headed back to the car. It was a great trip and really good to get out and spend time around Colchuck Lake.