By Joel VandenBrink, WNPF Board of Directors
It was 72 hours before I was scheduled to leave for my climb of Mount Shuksan with some of the board members from Washington’s National Park Fund, and here I was sitting at the hospital waiting for the results of a test. Not ideal.
But here I was, a victim of my own indiscretion. The previous weekend I had spent hiking in the Enchanted Valley in the Olympics with my best friends. A guys’ weekend in the woods. We hiked in, spent a few days back in the valley, and then hiked out. On one of our down days, I took a training run up out of the valley and didn’t bring enough water. So on the way down I put my Nalgene under a waterfall and chugged a pint.
So here I am, sitting at the hospital waiting on a test result for stool bacteria. Wondering, how in the world am I going to be able to blue bag it just three days from now, let alone rope up with a partner and scale a rock face?
The doctor gives me the drugs – a double dose (per my request) – and I pop the first two immediately. “Come on little pills, work your magic,” I think to myself as I drive home.
Fast forward 72 hours: I’m at the trailhead with the team and the guide and I’m still not 100%. As the guide gives us our route information I excuse myself to the outhouse and send up a little “prayer.” I cross my fingers as I rejoin the group. Maybe this was the last of it, I hope as I lace up my boots.
The approach for Mount Shuksan is a beautiful 7-mile trail that starts in thick weeds and works its way up through the forest to the base of the glacier. Along the way, there’s plenty to see and the terrain varies greatly as you climb up 3,000′ or so to camp.
At about the 5-mile mark you emerge above the trees and find yourself on Shannon Ridge. The views of the North Cascades are impressive from here and as you trudge on toward the glacier, Shuksan comes into full view. A perfect triangle of rock, just begging to be summitted and making you smile every time you dare look up from your boot path.
We make camp at “high camp” about 6,000′ up and on the edge of the glacier, with Shuksan in full view.
Glacial runoff is our water source. The guide tells us we don’t have to filter it; in fact, no one except me brought a filter. He says, “I’ve been drinking this water for 30 years with no issue.” I’m hesitant but follow suit. It’s delicious, crisp, and cold.
That night we eat our dehydrated meals and discuss our plans. This is usually a three-day trip, but our team is experienced in crevasse training and have all been up other mountains with guides. So we elect to make it a two-day trip – we will go to bed early, summit early, and make for the car all in one day.
Long before the sun rises the next morning we are crunching snow beneath our crampons. We have 2,500′ of elevation gain, all over the Sulphide Glacier before we get to the base of the summit. As we climb the ridge in the morning glow, Mount Baker decides to show off with Lenticular cloud magic. But behind her, a dark, gray cloud emerges. Our guide tells us to enjoy the show for now, but hold on for the weather – it will be here shortly.
A few minutes later we are literally in the gray cloud. Rain. Sleet. Freezing Rain. Repeat. And it’s cold! Really cold! I start to hear rumblings between the guides and worry that this freak weather may dampen our ascent up the face. It’s August after all! Why is it raining? Oh wait, it’s the mountains.
Luckily it was a small cell of weather and the sun emerges from the other side of it. We are wet, and the rock face is wet, but it’s still a go.
We transition our gear from glacial crossing to rock climbing and begin the 500′ ascent up the face of Shuksan. I’ve never done rock climbing “in the wild.” I’ve been to gyms indoors, and REI, but never real rock. I’m intimidated but trust that the guide and my partner will get me through. One step after the other, one rope after the other. “Belay On, On Belay” we yell at each other as we pull and push ourselves up the rock.
And then, we are there. The summit.
It’s a small summit, barely enough room for the five of us that made it up. But there we are, seemingly with the entirety of the North Cascades in front of us.
We eat our lunch, talk about strategy getting down, and then begin the long way back to the car. Reveling in the fact that we conquered the mountain, all while enjoying each other’s company and the beautiful sites around us.
“When can I do this again?” I ask as I throw my backpack in my car.
Joel VandenBrink is the CEO of Empire Can Handling Co. He joined Washington’s National Park Fund for a fundraising climb of Mount Shuksan in the summer of 2021. If you’re interested in participating in one of WNPF’s fundraising climbs of Mount Shuksan in the North Cascades, Mount Olympus in the Olympics, or Mount Rainier, be sure to check out our Climb for Cause program and learn how you can give back to the parks while going over the top.