Right near the Canadian border is a spot that is rarely discussed and even less photographed. The northern flank of Mt. Shuksan is absolutely stunning and ironically, the opposite side of which is the most photographed in the US. We started at 6AM Thanksgiving day with a great weather forecast. A long hike and cold, wet bushwack ensued. After reaching our camp above Price Lake, we realized our route was not in condition to be climbed. Watching as avalanches poured down the face and seeing the crevasses were covered with weak snowbridges that would never hold the weight of two climbers, we admitted defeat...this time! The Price Glacier is among the most committing routes on a Cascade mountain and needs to be in condition. This route has it all: steep ice climbing, snow-covered rock climbing, glaciers, incredible views and crazy route-finding difficulties, not to mention the 7,700ft. of elevation gain with full packs. Instead we enjoyed turkey jerky and excitedly planned our return in May...
Crossing the North Fork of the Nooksack River. It was super cold in the valley bottom
Our proposed route cuts diagonally across from the left (over my right shoulder). The actual summit pyramid is behind what is visible here. This face rises 7,000 ft. base to summit. You have to exit the ice and gain the rock at the top to bypass a broken part of the the glacier. Matt and I kept mentioning how we "feel like we're in Alaska"! These pics really don't show how intimidating this face really is!
That night the temps neared 15 degrees and the moon was as bright as I've seen
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