Trip Report
Basic Glacier Climb - Whitman Crest/Fryingpan Glacier
Chill basic graduation climb for the JA SIG up the Fryingpan Glacier to double bag a couple peaks. Amazing glissading nearly the whole way back after the glacier.
Joshua Walther
- Sat, Jun 7, 2025
- Basic Glacier Climb - Whitman Crest/Fryingpan Glacier
- Meany Crest
- Climbing
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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The road to Sunshine is open just up to the Summerland TH, so this is accessible by all vehicles. Road is in very good condition.
Sunrise near the TH The route is mostly covered in snow. The glacier isn't opened up at all, so crevasses weren't a concern. The warmer weather and soft snow eliminated the need for crampons. The Whitman Crest is pretty chossy. Use a lot of caution on the summit ridge that you don't kick rocks down.
Whitman Crest Snowbridges are becoming weak and many gave out in the forest and near rocks.
River crossing near several snow bridges Our group experienced a traffic backup in Greenwater on the way in and the way out due to accidents. Something to note since it is a small two-land road town. It's easy to get stuck until the accidents were cleared.
Little T and Emmons Glacier
Summerland TH is easy to find, and the route is smooth cruising on the way up. Snow starts about 1.5mi in. Some navigation is required, or careful track following. There a few places it is easy to get lost/choose your own adventure in the snowy forest.
We kick-stepped our own trail up a gully and made it to Summerland camp. There is a working bathroom here that uses the conveyor belt/pedal to flush. It's working, but bring your own toilet paper. This is also a good break spot. From here, we headed up towards Meany Crest/Peak 7573.
The Fryingpan Glacier starts just above here. We went to KD's favorite camping spot and roped up. There were no crevasses, so we made a straight shot for the summit, and took climber's left on the last push. Once you make the ridge, Whitman's Crest is easily gained with a chossy scramble.
We rapidly descended down on our rope teams to the end of the glacier. From here, we secured anything loose on our packs, and prepared to glissade back down. We made great time and chewed up about 3,000 feet of descent in less than an hour.
On our way out we carefully followed subtle tracks through the snowy forest and found our way back to the TH. After some more warming during the day, we had little post-holing, but a lot of snowbridges were giving out. Use caution when crossing anything suspect.
The students all performed great and graduated with a successful double peak bagger. Congrats to the JA sig on your grad climb!
