Mount Shuksan/North Face

DRIVING DIRECTIONS

Take I-5 to Bellingham, and take exit 155 for the Mount Baker Highway (SR 542). Follow SR 542 33.8 miles to Glacier and obtain permit at the Ranger Station. Continue 13 miles past Glacier to Nooksack River Bridge. Continue driving 5 miles to hairpin corner at 3,500 ft, two miles from Mount Baker Ski Area. Turn left at hairpin corner onto White Salmon Road (Forest Road 3075), marked, not at its junction with the Mount Baker Highway, but at its last switchback/junction). Follow to its end above White Salmon Creek. Heavy brush encroaches on both sides of the road for the last mile or two, leaving scratched vehicle sides.

APPROACH

A faint path with some flagging continues through road bed brush for several hundred yards before dropping down faintly from the roadbed with sporadic flagging and making its way over to a more open swath and dropping down to White Salmon Creek. Hike up brushy valley, then ascend eastward up timbered slopes to open areas along ridge crest. Good bivy spots are located at 5,500 ft where ridge meets North Face.

ASCENT ROUTE

From bivy, traverse left on hanging glacier above Price Lake and under upper hanging glacier perched above first rock barrier. After 500 ft, climb to right up firn and ice finger west of upper hanging glacier. Especially in early season, do not go far left onto North Face where avalanches frequently occur.

Continue steeply up North Face to shoulder northeast of summit pyramid. After midseason, route can be very broken and schrund at shoulder quite large. From top of shoulder, traverse ice plateau around east side of summit pyramid and finish climb by standard route to summit.

DESCENT ROUTE

Descend via Fisher Chimneys and Lake Ann Trail to Mount Baker Ski Area. Alternately, descend the White Salmon Glacier for a return to the cars.

TRIP PROFILE

EQUIPMENT

Ice ax, crampons, ice screws, pickets.

NOTES

• Take special care on the summit pyramid gully because of loose rock and multiple parties. Some guide services do not require climbing experience as a prerequisite for this route.
• Leaving a second vehicle at the Mount Baker Ski Area shortens the descent.
• Some parties prefer to camp a second night above Fisher Chimneys or at Lake Ann.
• Descent can also be made via White Salmon Glacier or Sulphide Glacier, although the latter requires a very long car shuttle.

information for leaders

Courses, paid clinics, staff-led programs, and course field trips require a Commercial Use Authorization. The Park typically accepts applications for 2-year CUAs  through mid-March each year, and CUA's are activity-specific. Please contact info@mountaineers.org if you would like to apply for a CUA for a field trip or paid clinic for an activity we do not already have a CUA for. Please follow all Mountaineers group guidelines when leading trips or courses in North Cascades National Park. 

Notes:

• Leaders are responsible for securing backcountry permits or other required permits even if  we have a CUA.
• Leaders must have all relevant CUAs with them in paper or electronic copy to show Parks Staff as requested. 
• All Hiking course field trips or paid clinics must have a First aid and CPR certified leader. Current (non-expired) certificates must be uploaded to the park web portal by Mountaineers staff prior to the trip
• All mountaineering field trips or paid clinics must have a WFR-certified leader and a leader with documented climbing certifications (an AMGA certification OR Mountaineers climb leader with a recent resume of training and experience). Both qualifications must be uploaded to the park web portal by Mountaineers staff prior to the trip

View list of current North Cascades CUAs

• Suitable Activities: Climbing
• Climbing Category: Intermediate Alpine
• Seasons: May, June, July
• Weather: View weather forecast

• Difficulty: Intermediate Ice Climb
• Elevation Gain: 6,100 ft
• High Point: 9,127 ft

• Land Manager: North Cascades National Park
  Stephen Mather Wilderness
• Parking Permit Required: None
• Recommended Party Size: 12
• Maximum Party Size: 12
• Maximum Route/Place Capacity: 12