Sahale Peak/Quien Sabe Glacier

Our group had originally planned to camp in Boston Basin on Saturday night and summit on Sunday, but all the permits for Boston Basin were already taken. So, we decided to do a one-day carryover instead, and ascend the Quien Sabe glacier Saturday and descend the Sahale arm route back to the cars late Saturday/early Sunday. We set up our camp at Marble Creek Campground along Cascade River Road and then went to the Boston Basin TH. Both the Boston Basin TH and the Cascade Pass TH were absolutely packed! We left the Boston Basin TH at 10:30 am and were pleasantly surprised to be the only group on the trail. The creek crossings on the trail to Boston Basin were no problem and the slabs on the way to the Quien Sabe glacier were snow free. We took the easier route that follows the left side of the glacier and then traverses right. We were able to follow an existing boot path around the crevasses. There was a party of 2 descending the route, but otherwise we had the whole glacier to ourselves. The bergschrund was passable on the right. We used one picket, but didn’t need any ice screws. The ridge leading from the col to the summit scramble was almost entirely clear of snow. The last member of our party made it to the summit just before sunset. The views were incredible! We used a single-rope rappel off the east side of the summit, downclimbed to the Sahale glacier, and followed the Sahale arm route back to the TH, arriving at 1 am on Sunday. The total time was 14.5 hours. We then returned to Marble Creek Campground to spend the night. Great group of climbers and amazing views, but I’d definitely recommend doing this climb during the week to avoid permitting issues.