Forum Index > Trip Reports > Jack, Nohokomeen Glacier attempt 6/4-6/16
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cartman
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PostFri Jun 10, 2016 8:31 am 
The beautiful moraine
The beautiful moraine
I've been interested in climbing Jack from the north ever since Jason Hummel posted his climb and ski descent of the Nohokomeen Glacier four years ago. This route requires fine timing in a short window of opportunity, as the headwall bergschrund opens up early and becomes impassable. A couple of weeks ago I asked John Scurlock if he might be flying in the area soon, and if he could take a picture of the headwall. He was, and he did--thanks a lot, John!
Jack, Scurlock photo 5-31
Jack, Scurlock photo 5-31
(John's fantastic website of aerial photos of the Cascades can be found here.) Armed with what looked like a good route past the schrund, I managed to recruit Nick (neek) and Jon (Roald), and by some miracle all three of us had a six-day window in early June to make this trip happen. A whole passel of logistics later, we were headed down to the boat landing on Ross Lake, where we ran into another nwhiker preparing to raft the lake to Cat Island.
KarlK preparing to raft Ross Lake
KarlK preparing to raft Ross Lake
It was great to meet someone whose reports and adventures I'd only read about. We were on the boat and roaring up the lake by 11am.
Colonial Group
Colonial Group
As we approached the dock at May Creek, we had a view of the hillside we'd have to climb to get to camp.
Pt 5443 and approach
Pt 5443 and approach
The route looked more limiting than I was expecting, though as we were planning to approach the same way Jason did along the far right ridgeline, it looked doable. We took the connector trail up to the East Bank trail and made quick work of the mile south, intending to approach between the two creeks that are south of May Creek on the map. The lower portion of the route started out low angle and shortly entered mature vine maple. The first couple of hundred feet were easy, then became progressively more brushy. 600'+ of vine maple finally gave way to the semi-open forest we were expecting.
Easier terrain on approach
Easier terrain on approach
The terrain here is steep, and the footing not particularly good due to slick duff, loose rocks imbedded in the dirt, fallen logs, and brushy understory. I was not moving quickly (note to self: do not do a three day trip two days before a bigger three day trip), and progress was slow. At ~4500' we had a choice: go left across the slope and try to access the upper slope of Pt 5443 in brush and alder, or go up and see if we could find a way thru the cliff bands. We decided to go up. Unfortunately, 600' of gain later we found ourselves cliffed out with no way to continue up or traverse and were forced to reverse the gain. Back to our previous decision point, my left boot sole chose this inopportune time to come completely unglued (thanks, Asolo), held on only at the tip of the toe. I finished it off, walked around a bit on it and determined it was still usable; fortunately Asolo boots have a plastic footplate underneath, and the boot was mostly still sealed and I didn't really notice much difference without the rubber sole. Now traversing north we encountered a large wall of slide alder in a stream bed as the sun was going down. Not wishing to bash thru alder in the dark with more up to an unknown camp, we decided to bivy on the slope and finish the route to camp at dawn. Surprisingly, with a little effort--Nick and I each dug a "chair" in the rocky loam slope--we all had a decent night's sleep and a fairly comfortable night at our makeshift bivy. We were up quickly and moving early. The alder bash above the northern stream was actually quite short, giving way to nice open forest to the south shoulder of Pt 5443. Here we dropped our overnight gear and descended easy forested slopes 500' to the valley floor, where what did we find? More slide alder. The valley has numerous meltwater streams running down, many running high with the warm temps this spring. We stayed on the edge of the valley, crossing a couple of streams in the alder by rock hopping or in one case, on a precariously balanced bouncy log. The valley finally gave us our first view of the route:
First view of the Nohokomeen
First view of the Nohokomeen
Trending left and up, we exited the mixed alder and evergreens into one of the more spectacular glacial moraines I've seen in the Cascades.
Into the moraine
Into the moraine
Somewhat reminiscent of the Eldorado Glacier moraine, but larger, more rugged and with better scenery. Waterfalls were everywhere, with temps near 80º at 6000' causing the meltwater to run high in every available channel.
Nohokomeen icefall
Nohokomeen icefall
We scrambled left to find a route around the icefall,
Scrambling
Scrambling
Icefall closeup
Icefall closeup
weaving wherever the route looked best.
We go up
We go up
Slab climbing
Slab climbing
Finally reaching good continuous snow,
Broken lower glacier
Broken lower glacier
Passing by
Passing by
Sunbow
Sunbow
we booted up until just below the first visible crevasses, where we roped up for the 2000' of glacier to the headwall. The Nohokomeen Glacier is wide and gently rolling for most of its length, allowing for plenty of route variation depending on conditions. The glacier was in excellent shape with only 1-2' wide crevasses showing, so I led up with only moderate variations to right or left to best access the easiest slopes.
On the glacier
On the glacier
Easy terrain
Easy terrain
As with most glaciers, I find the terrain to be inspiring, the uniqueness of the surroundings imparting renewed energy and sharpened focus.
Seracs
Seracs
With a few breaks to drink and reapply sunscreen we made good time to the glacier headwall.
Comet
Comet
Which did not look good.
The Headwall
The Headwall
The Nohokomeen Glacier headwall is a 600-800' 50º wall of snow above a very bad runout with cliffs below, an indirect steep upward traverse to even steeper terrain to finish to the ridge. Even more problematic, the entire lower wall is cut by a bergschrund--a "super crevasse" where the lower moving glacial ice separates from the static upper ice. The only way to climb over the schrund is to hope the gap still has sufficient snow filling it or a stable snow bridge across it. There was one spot that appeared to possibly afford a crossing at the schrund's narrowest point. However, multiple factors had come into play to make the route highly questionable and quite dangerous. 1. Would the bridge over the schrund be passable; 2. Large overhanging cornices for the lower half of the route, which could collapse at any time and which were surely destabilizing in the heat of the day (freezing level 14,000'); 3. Cliffs below the entire route; 4. Very soft snow which would give unstable footing on no-slip terrain, which would be even worse coming down in the hottest part of the day; 5. Time. It was already 2:30, and we would be on extremely dangerous terrain for the next two hours minimum, with no room at all for even one misplaced footstep. Roping up for the headwall was not an option. We had only a 35 meter rope and three pickets; the soft snow would require deadman anchors, and there would be no good way for the end man to pass the pickets back to the leader on a steep wall, and would take too long besides. We had agreed before leaving town that we would not rope up for the headwall--thus the decision to bring a light, short rope and only three pickets (for crevasse rescue). We discussed the concerns and options, though I was convinced we had reached our high point. However, since we were there Nick and Jon wanted to take a look at the schrund--to "kiss the wall" and see for themselves how it looked. Leaving their packs behind they booted up and checked it out.
Nick and Jon approach the headwall
Nick and Jon approach the headwall
The schrund
The schrund
Investigating
Investigating
Reaching the most narrow section, Nick probed the only potential crossing point,
Not good
Not good
reporting back upon his return that it was far too unstable to attempt to cross. Decision made. Well, it was a good effort. We booted easily down the even softer slopes, hopping over the dozen open crevasses and to our rope up spot. Down the slabby rock with great views of distant peaks,
Prophet
Prophet
Hozomeen
Hozomeen
we reached the base of the moraine,
The beautiful moraine
The beautiful moraine
and more alder schwacking down the valley, then up the hillside to our buggy camp. In the morning we endured more brush, steep traversing, route finding between the same two creeks and vine maple below to reach the trail and the boat landing by noon, two hours ahead of our scheduled pickup. Knowing what I know now, I would probably have not attempted this route. The combination of late May/early June weather uncertainty, short window for the schrund to be passable, the required good snow conditions on the headwall, bad runout, cornice issues, and difficult and unpleasant approach all conspire to make the Nohokomeen Glacier route very difficult to time just right. Simply put, just too many variables in too short of a window. Climbers have to be very fortunate to climb this route successfully. And the boat doesn't usually start running until Memorial Day weekend, so that gives about two weeks to do the route if one does not want to walk an additional 8 miles each way. But what an adventure! The Nohokomeen Glacier moraine is one of the most spectacular I have ever seen, and the glacier itself was moderate and fun. Many thanks to Nick and Jon for being fine and patient partners, to Jon for the navigation (GPS was very helpful) and to Nick for carrying extra loads. And I have to give Asolo some credit too; the boots held together for all of the valley schwacking, slab climbing, and glacier travel up and down, and down the entire rocky, brushy hillside and on the trails to the landing and up to the car.
Boot destruction
Boot destruction
I think I will retire these boots now... Eric J. Johnson

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Distel32
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PostFri Jun 10, 2016 11:08 am 
up.gif

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Roald
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PostFri Jun 10, 2016 11:20 am 
Love those boots! You should submit your boot picture for the calendar. Or get them bronzed. Thanks for a great trip. It was an easy decision to not try to step up across the crevasse onto a block that looked like it would break off into the crevasse - providing a literal ride into an abyss. The cornices overhead on a hot day made it even easier. Unlike you, I could be talked into heading back into that valley one of these days! (It must be some masochistic streak.) The moraine area was delightful, and worthy of some hang-out time.

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KarlK
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PostFri Jun 10, 2016 11:30 am 
This is an excellent and very informative report. I've been curious about the May Creek approach to the Nohokomeen for some time now, and now I know a lot more. Thanks for that! Your report evokes memories of past thrashes involving climbs and attempted climbs wherein the thrash was by far the most vexing part of the effort. Your report also brings to mind the astonishing determination, toughness and wilderness skills of previous generations of climbers who penetrated deep into the most forbidding reaches of the Cascades without the benefit of roads, decent equipment, route knowledge or any but the most ephemeral hope of rescue if the s**t hit the fan. Which reminds me that Fred Becky is 92 or 93 years old (Jim Nelson says nobody knows for sure), living in the Greenlake area, and still climbing. Someday I’ll have to tell you an interesting Fred story, one involving a first ascent in the Sierra and a former UW Army Ranger named Reed Cundiff who performed the most astonishing feat of human strength and pure will that I have ever witnessed, thereby keeping Fred in the running for reaching his current temporal status. Please permit me to congratulate ya’all on your decision to avoid that headwall.

Karl J Kaiyala
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Brushbuffalo
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PostFri Jun 10, 2016 11:40 am 
Cartman, that sounds like an adventure for sure! Good write-up, too. up.gif Considering all the factors you mentioned, it was wise of you to retreat. Realize that you were venturing into ground where few humans have ever been, so far as we know. Your solid and enjoyable-to-read TR is yet another example that sometimes the best adventures are ones that involve a DNS (Did Not Summit.....not Did Not Start or Did Not Satisfy or even Did Not Scare eek.gif ). Now I need to be the annoying scientist again. hmmm.gif It is uncommon to refer to moraines as "beautiful." In your image of the "beautiful moraine" I see mainly a large expanse of recently ice-free bedrock slabs, not a moraine. A grayish ridge of till appears in the lower section of the image.....that is an end moraine ( more likely a ground moraine if it is an irregular blanket rather than a ridge). Do you have other pictures of the rubble? Maybe the moraine is beautiful as in "an excellent example of glacial deposition." Is that what you mean? ( more probably, a beautiful example of a cool glacial landform). Here is one of John's images of the terminus of the Nohokomeen Glacier, with the terrain just beyond the terminus looking like bedrock, but with a "beautiful" ridge on the left side of the image. This is a right lateral moraine ( viewed in the "downstream" direction), with part of the left lateral moraine just visible in lower right. From the looks of the moraines, (sharp-crested and barely vegetated), they are relatively fresh deposits from a more extensive Nohoko. Glacier. http://www.pbase.com/nolock/image/49378851

Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
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RichP
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PostFri Jun 10, 2016 11:43 am 
A valiant effort from all, summit or no summit. I imagine that you can count yourselves among very few souls that have even had the gumption to make into that area.

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iron
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PostFri Jun 10, 2016 12:58 pm 
cartman wrote:
The Headwall
The Headwall
^ looks a few days more melted out than our snow conditions a few years ago.
next time, should you go up again, bring some pro and do the ridge route. it looks like a fun, enjoyable climb on solid rock.

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neek
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PostFri Jun 10, 2016 1:06 pm 
I really enjoyed this trip - just the right amount of adventure and challenge. Great write-up and pics. Here are a couple more I got before my battery went.
Making the (first) call
Making the (first) call
Disembarking
Disembarking
Candystick (?)
Candystick (?)
And to answer the moraine question, the upper-right corner of this photo shows part of the first one we encountered
Slabs leading up to the terminus of the Nohokomeen Glacier
Slabs leading up to the terminus of the Nohokomeen Glacier
There was a larger one further up to the left (the "right lateral moraine" referred to?) that we approached the base of.

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iron
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PostFri Jun 10, 2016 1:08 pm 
^ pretty sad that a spot that once held glacier (not long ago) now doesn't even have seasonal snow in early june...

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Brushbuffalo
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PostFri Jun 10, 2016 2:51 pm 
neek wrote:
Slabs leading up to the terminus of the Nohokomeen Glacier
Slabs leading up to the terminus of the Nohokomeen Glacier
There was a larger one further up to the left (the "right lateral moraine" referred to?) that we approached the base of.
That's what the image from the air in John's photo shows, both the left lateral and the larger right lateral moraines. Thanks for the clarification. Both the recently "de-iced" slabs and those beautiful moraines are sights to see. As a geologist with a particular interest in glaciers, I have a bit of envy for you for seeing that. But I don't think I want to brave the arduous thrash to get there.

Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
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Brushbuffalo
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PostFri Jun 10, 2016 3:02 pm 
iron wrote:
bring some pro and do the ridge route. it looks like a fun, enjoyable climb on solid r
iron , are you talking about the north ridge and upper East Glacier that Joe Vance and partner pioneered, or are you referring to the west ridge?

Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
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iron
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PostFri Jun 10, 2016 3:04 pm 
north ridge. looked easily accessible from snow ramps when we were there. i seem to recall reading in beckey that it's 5.5, but it's been awhile since i looked at it.

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raising3hikers
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PostFri Jun 10, 2016 4:46 pm 
glad you were able to enjoy the beautiful Nohokomeen glacier area! don't give up on that route, it's a fun one when conditions are right

Eric Eames
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gb
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PostFri Jun 10, 2016 7:40 pm 
The lack of snow at around 6000' is pretty amazing, given the aspect. Also pretty surprising you chose such a warm period for this route. Seems like the chance of getting avalanched off the face would have been relatively high?

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PostSat Jun 11, 2016 12:05 pm 
Excellent trip report and reflections, Eric. Having just missed two route-clearing avalanches on the Sherpa glacier that same blistering hot afternoon, I am SO glad you guys backed off the headwall.

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