Page 2
Day 2
Suzanne, David, and I had Exped Downmats and stayed warm although it dropped to about 20 degrees overnight. The others were cold but all made it through the night okay. 12+ hours is a long time to spend in a dark tent but I slept for at least 8 hours making it much more bearable. Getting up was hard though the morning views of the mountains nearly made up for the cold. When the sun came over Mt. Shuksan it warmed up quickly. Beth and Lauren chose to stay at Artist Point. They spent the day tanning and relaxing. That doesn't sound so bad. The rest of us packed up and headed down to Austin Pass.
It was just after 9:00 am when we started back. Even at that hour we saw a few people heading up. We went a little east of our route up to reach Austin Pass and set up Barb's tent. We stowed tents, sleeping bags, and sleeping pads, plus other unneeded items to lighten our loads. We were surprised to find the summer trailhead sign for the Lake Ann trail. Most Februarys it would be under snow.
It was easy to drop into the valley below but I knew it would be a lot harder on our way back out. Below is a large meadow. Mt. Ann was still looking to be a long way off. We found footprints postholed in the snow. Those folks dug a big smiley face before turning around. We were on the right side of the creek and knew we would have to cross it at some point. The going was easy. We entered some forest and the cool was much appreciated. It was now getting to be very hot out in the sun.
We scouted along the creek trying to find a way across. It was up to ten or more feet of vertical snow on one or both sides of the creek. No snow bridges this year. We couldn't find a way across when we noticed Gus the dog on the other bank. How did he do that? He must have walked up the creek until he found a spot to climb up. Suzanne crossed on a snow covered log and managed to kick a few steps after taking off her snowshoes. She used a tree to help pull herself up. The rest of us followed suit and used ice axes to provide grab handles to pull ourselves up.
David did a trip June trip to Lake Ann and up the ridge to Mt. Ann. On that trip there was much more snow in the valley. They had only a few creeks to cross. We had many more. Some had snow bridges, some didn't. Many required searching to find a crossing. All required ups and downs adding a lot of elevation gain. We hoped to climb up under Mt. Ann's false summit to reach the ridge without going to the lake. Our low snow difficulties added a lot of time. The heat was sapping my energy too. As we crossed below the lake it was clear we did not have time to reach the summit.
Time for a new plan. We headed up towards the lake. We crossed one deep creek gully on a snow bridge and then had to stay on that side all the way up. We picked up more old ski tracks and followed them higher. The wide open slopes below the lake were spectacular. Great views all around Mt. Shuksan loomed right above us. We dropped about 1000' from Austin Pass and gained about 1000' to the lake. I was really dragging when we crested the ridge and looked over to the lake. The only two people we saw from Austin Pass down and back were not too far behind now. We headed a short way up the ridge to provide much better views of Shuksan. Suzanne and Barb climbed even higher. It was now time to finish lunch and much of my water.
The prudent plan would have been to follow our footprints all the way back. We chose not too. We headed more to the right looking for a shorter course down. It was shorter but much steeper. David booted it but the rest of us put on Microspikes. I also took out my ice axe. It was pretty good snow much of the way but icy in the middle. At the bottom we went back to snowshoes. We saw the tracks of the other two snowshoers and followed them most of the way back. Their route was farther right and avoided many of the deep gully and creek crossings. Not easy but easier than our route in.
The only problem was getting back across the main creek. We found a spot where we could jump down onto a block of snow and rock hop to the other side. A ramp allowed access to the other bank. Now we just had a long slog up the valley and a steep climb to the pass. When the sun went behind the ridge the temperature plunged and it was much more comfortable hiking. The sun on Shuksan was fantastic as we look back. David rigged a tripod from three poles and we took a group shot in the final meadow. The climb was a pain and it was nice getting back to the pass. We did end up to far right and had to climb over a small ridge to get back to the tent.
It was now around 4:00 pm. We repacked our gear and just had downhill left. The ski area had just shut down and we did not see any skiers while descending. The well worn track back was easy walking. We made it back to the car at 4:30. Lauren and Beth were just about 15 minutes ahead of us as our timing was excellent. A stop for dinner in Glacier rounded out the day. This was not trip with a great summit though the views were better most of the weekend than many good summits. It didn't cover a lot of miles though 13 miles in snowshoes felt like a lot. All the ups and downs added up to 4600' of gain though there were few long climbs. All in all, it was one of the best overnight winter trips I have been on.
Suzanne's report and other members photos are at: Nwhikers Report & Photos
Click on thumbnails to get larger pictures.
<< Day 1
Artist Ann Report
Trips - 2010
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Suzanne, David, and I had Exped Downmats and stayed warm although it dropped to about 20 degrees overnight. The others were cold but all made it through the night okay. 12+ hours is a long time to spend in a dark tent but I slept for at least 8 hours making it much more bearable. Getting up was hard though the morning views of the mountains nearly made up for the cold. When the sun came over Mt. Shuksan it warmed up quickly. Beth and Lauren chose to stay at Artist Point. They spent the day tanning and relaxing. That doesn't sound so bad. The rest of us packed up and headed down to Austin Pass.
It was just after 9:00 am when we started back. Even at that hour we saw a few people heading up. We went a little east of our route up to reach Austin Pass and set up Barb's tent. We stowed tents, sleeping bags, and sleeping pads, plus other unneeded items to lighten our loads. We were surprised to find the summer trailhead sign for the Lake Ann trail. Most Februarys it would be under snow.
It was easy to drop into the valley below but I knew it would be a lot harder on our way back out. Below is a large meadow. Mt. Ann was still looking to be a long way off. We found footprints postholed in the snow. Those folks dug a big smiley face before turning around. We were on the right side of the creek and knew we would have to cross it at some point. The going was easy. We entered some forest and the cool was much appreciated. It was now getting to be very hot out in the sun.
We scouted along the creek trying to find a way across. It was up to ten or more feet of vertical snow on one or both sides of the creek. No snow bridges this year. We couldn't find a way across when we noticed Gus the dog on the other bank. How did he do that? He must have walked up the creek until he found a spot to climb up. Suzanne crossed on a snow covered log and managed to kick a few steps after taking off her snowshoes. She used a tree to help pull herself up. The rest of us followed suit and used ice axes to provide grab handles to pull ourselves up.
David did a trip June trip to Lake Ann and up the ridge to Mt. Ann. On that trip there was much more snow in the valley. They had only a few creeks to cross. We had many more. Some had snow bridges, some didn't. Many required searching to find a crossing. All required ups and downs adding a lot of elevation gain. We hoped to climb up under Mt. Ann's false summit to reach the ridge without going to the lake. Our low snow difficulties added a lot of time. The heat was sapping my energy too. As we crossed below the lake it was clear we did not have time to reach the summit.
Time for a new plan. We headed up towards the lake. We crossed one deep creek gully on a snow bridge and then had to stay on that side all the way up. We picked up more old ski tracks and followed them higher. The wide open slopes below the lake were spectacular. Great views all around Mt. Shuksan loomed right above us. We dropped about 1000' from Austin Pass and gained about 1000' to the lake. I was really dragging when we crested the ridge and looked over to the lake. The only two people we saw from Austin Pass down and back were not too far behind now. We headed a short way up the ridge to provide much better views of Shuksan. Suzanne and Barb climbed even higher. It was now time to finish lunch and much of my water.
The prudent plan would have been to follow our footprints all the way back. We chose not too. We headed more to the right looking for a shorter course down. It was shorter but much steeper. David booted it but the rest of us put on Microspikes. I also took out my ice axe. It was pretty good snow much of the way but icy in the middle. At the bottom we went back to snowshoes. We saw the tracks of the other two snowshoers and followed them most of the way back. Their route was farther right and avoided many of the deep gully and creek crossings. Not easy but easier than our route in.
The only problem was getting back across the main creek. We found a spot where we could jump down onto a block of snow and rock hop to the other side. A ramp allowed access to the other bank. Now we just had a long slog up the valley and a steep climb to the pass. When the sun went behind the ridge the temperature plunged and it was much more comfortable hiking. The sun on Shuksan was fantastic as we look back. David rigged a tripod from three poles and we took a group shot in the final meadow. The climb was a pain and it was nice getting back to the pass. We did end up to far right and had to climb over a small ridge to get back to the tent.
It was now around 4:00 pm. We repacked our gear and just had downhill left. The ski area had just shut down and we did not see any skiers while descending. The well worn track back was easy walking. We made it back to the car at 4:30. Lauren and Beth were just about 15 minutes ahead of us as our timing was excellent. A stop for dinner in Glacier rounded out the day. This was not trip with a great summit though the views were better most of the weekend than many good summits. It didn't cover a lot of miles though 13 miles in snowshoes felt like a lot. All the ups and downs added up to 4600' of gain though there were few long climbs. All in all, it was one of the best overnight winter trips I have been on.
Suzanne's report and other members photos are at: Nwhikers Report & Photos
 A SRM Hubba Tent |
 Morning Mt. Baker |
 Breakfast In Camp |
 Barb Is Ready To Go |
 Mt. Baker Contrast |
 Mt. Herman |
 Descending to Austin Pass |
 Lake Ann Trailhead |
 Down In The Valley |
 Avalanche Debris |
 Big Creek Crossing |
 Mt. Ann Above |
 Another Creek To Cross |
 Open Slope Below Lake |
 Here Comes David |
 Ridge Above Lake |
 Lake Ann |
 Shuksan From Lake |
 Two Snowshoers |
 Here Comes Gus! |
 Campsite In The Distance |
 Heading Down |
 Last Creek Crossing |
 Shuksan From Valley |
 Group Shot |
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Artist Ann Report
Trips - 2010
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