Forum Index > Trip Reports > ~*Boston, Sahale, & Buckner (SE & NW) 9/24-9/25*~
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~*CutebutChossy69*~
bluebagprincess



Joined: 08 Jul 2019
Posts: 58 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
~*CutebutChossy69*~
bluebagprincess
PostTue Sep 27, 2022 9:42 pm 
~*Boston, Sahale, & Buckner (SE & NW) 9/24-9/25*~ BB with my bb! And bonus Sahale. Alden and I wanted to spend some time together celebrating our 2 yr anniversary, and what better way than to do two new-to-me Bulgers!? Haha he is such a champ for doing repeats with me wub.gif My doc said not to do anything that might disturb the stitches in my hand, but I think scrambling Boston, Sahale, and Buckner was totes fine right? uhh.gif (it was!) Big thanks to uncle Sam and uncle Ben for watching Lark and Jiggy, which made this trip possible! D1: Cascade Pass TH > Boston summit > Sahale Summit > Horseshoe Basin We slept at the TH Friday evening to get an early start on Saturday. I loathe early starts but Alden loves them, so we comprimised and started a few mins before 5:30a. As we made our way up the switchbacks to cascade pass we got to see J-Berg waking up- what a beaute! We made it to Cascade Pass in 1.5 hrs and ate some snax. The colors going up the Sahale arm were FALL AF. Everytime I have been to this area I have seen a bear, and sure nuff we saw one running across the arm. Majestic.
shhhh Jberg is sleeeping
shhhh Jberg is sleeeping
mtns waking up
mtns waking up
Queen of the Cascade River herself
Queen of the Cascade River herself
goin up the arm
goin up the arm
2 bad Bs, my bb & Jberg
2 bad Bs, my bb & Jberg
At Sahale glacier camp we got some water, and donned on smol day packs and stashed our overnight packs. We clipped them together and made a giant rock pile on top of them farther away from the camps so ppl... or goats...wouldn't be tempted to mess with them.
fueled by fritos, getting ready to go up Sahale glacier
fueled by fritos, getting ready to go up Sahale glacier
We saw someone going up the glacier and stop at the steeper icy section and turn around. I made a yikes face and hoped we'd make it up ok, bc we only brought microspikes for this trip. The lower Sahale glacier is pretty icy in the am rn. Crampons would have been more secure but microspikes went fine. I used an axe and Alden just used a pole. The glacier has several open crevasses, but good snow bridges for now. We scrambled up near the summit of Sahale but opted to summit it on the return instead.
last stretch of flatter glacier
last stretch of flatter glacier
We continued along the ridge to get to Boston. I'd recommend mostly going up and over the rises/gendarmes on the ridge, we dropped down climbers right before the last rise and had to do a traverse above the Boston glacier to gain the ledge on the route just below the rap route (aka the S face). (We scrambled up and over this gendarme instead on the way back and it was easier).
ridge rompin
ridge rompin
gaining the ridge
gaining the ridge
The ledge was dirty but mostly secure, there were two spots on the ledge I called "spooky" but hey it's almost Halloween right? So gotta get a little spooky this time of year. They were very narrow with slightly awkward moves, be sure to test your hand holds here! And your foot holds. We did not have any snow to contend with on this route. I was a little nervous about Boston bc of the rap it gets for being scary, but all in all it was fine and actually fun!
narrowing spot on the ledge
narrowing spot on the ledge
Finally we saw the C4 chimney that takes you up to the final exposed steep scramble to gain the summit ridge. It's got loose stuff on it so take care. The ridge to the summit is short and p easy. We were greeted by a unicorn in the summit register! Alden checked to see if he had service so he could msg Ross and Aaron who were next door on Forbidden, we waved too lol. We spent some time reading the register entries and enjoing Boston creme donuts on top of Boston.
C4 chimney
C4 chimney
chaaaarlieeeeee
chaaaarlieeeeee
We opted not to bring a rope on this trip and planned to downclimb. We retraced our route and downclimbed back to the start of the ledge below the rap route. I thought the spooky spots on the ledge traverse were easier on the way back than on the way in. Something about the movements just felt better in that direction to me.
comin back down the summit ridge
comin back down the summit ridge
downclimbing this 30 or so foot section below the summit ridge was the stiffest part IMO
downclimbing this 30 or so foot section below the summit ridge was the stiffest part IMO
having a lil memento mori moment and breaking the don't look down rule
having a lil memento mori moment and breaking the don't look down rule
We scrambled up the first gendarme and retraced the ridge all the way to the Sahale summit. We had more snax and Alden took a super zoom pic of Ross and Aaron on Forbidden smile.gif
Hi Ross & Aaron!
Hi Ross & Aaron!
We downclimbed Sahale, and descended the glacier back to our stashed packs. Got some water and rested for a bit before re-packing and heading for Horseshoe basin.
lower part of the Sahale Glacier
lower part of the Sahale Glacier
If you make a downward trending traverse you can skip the snow patches on the way to gain the ridge that leads to the descent gully into the basin. We slowly descended some steep icy snow before noticing there was a wide slab ledge we could have taken instead withstupid.gif We made note to take it on the way out the next day. The wide ledge to avoid the snow is at about 7300' rn. We traversed the waterfalls and slabs to gain the ridge. Scrambled down the ridge and noticed something red in a rugged looking chimney across the way. Huh. Alden took lots of super zoom pics to try and get a better look and it looks like there is something red, blue, and green over there. Not sure what it is or how it got there...
mystery items
mystery items
another vantage of mystery items
another vantage of mystery items
I actually did Horsehoe like 8 years ago when I was a basic student in the Mounties, I remember the descent gully into Horseshoe basin bc it was the first loose gully I had ever been in, I thought it was super sketchy at the time, probs more so bc the climb leader left me and another basic student at the top and told us to "figure it out." That whole trip was p awful actually, the leader sucked, we got benighted, but all in all it ended up being the impetus for me taking a bunch of courses and learning how to plan and lead climbs on my own cool.gif
coming down the gully to gain the basin
coming down the gully to gain the basin
This time around the gully felt fine ofc, we ran into Ian & Tim who were coming up it as we got to the top. We chatted for a bit and descended. Then I glissaded down the snow a bit and traversed where it was a little flatter so I could avoid needing to put on microspikes again. We traversed under the Davenport glacier and across the waterfalls that ran off it. We filtered a bunch of water towards the end of this traverse and ran into another party of Illya, Danyun, & Alex. Buckner was getting a lot of love on Saturday! Before we started the chossy talus traverse to the mine we ran into Nick & Selena who had just come down from Buckner.
traversing under the Davenport
traversing under the Davenport
Alex
Alex
We camped at the top of the old tailings pile from the mine, it had just enough room for us to both cowboy camp. Watch out for rusty sharp sh## tho, make sure you're up to date on your tetanus shot : )
We explored the mine stuffs, and then made dinner and watched the sunset. We had the whole basin to ourselves, how romantic makeout.gif
hair inspired by the ripsaw ridge (behind me)
hair inspired by the ripsaw ridge (behind me)
The stars were amazing. D2: Camp > Buckner summits > TH
gewddd morning
gewddd morning
Boston & Sahale waking up
Boston & Sahale waking up
We slept in a bit this time and headed out just before 7a. Now it was time for the chossy stuff! Lots of talus, scree, some deadpan traversing and navigating up scramble bits, and short gullies. Some spots were like a nice choss treadmill where you take a few steps up and end up in the same place you started lol.gif We were able to easily avoid any snow getting up to the summit of Buckner. Here is my strava post if you want to see our track. It gradually got smokier throughout the day :/
We went up the short gully just below that tiny spot of snow, and then traversed climbers left around the snow to gain the upper talus fields to Buckner
We went up the short gully just below that tiny spot of snow, and then traversed climbers left around the snow to gain the upper talus fields to Buckner
almost there...
almost there...
We looked around on the summit for a register but couldn't find one anywhere. Thanks to big prominence daddy Gilbertson you know we had to go to the NE summit as well, no way in hell I was gonna leave without tagging both summits sneaky.gif we used his beta to get to the NE summit. We scrambled up the first few rises, then traversed just below the crest on the left, then dropped down a few more feet to the right of the crest and continued on traversing. Mostly C3 and p easy going. No register on that summit either lol so we just hungout and admired the beauty that is the Boston Glacier. We saw the McAlister fire billowing nearby.
scrambling to the NE summit
scrambling to the NE summit
glorious Boston glacier, largest glacier in N Cascades
glorious Boston glacier, largest glacier in N Cascades
We descended the way we came, for the most part, down lower we opted to scree ski down below a snow patch instead of the short gully we used on the ascent to bypass it. Some talus plunging and lots of choss traversing later we were back at the mine camp. We chilled a bit before heading out. The smoke was starting to bother me, I have a p sensitive sinus system, and asthma. Gone are the days I can climb in high aqi days nopity.gif .
slim jim plz sponsor me
slim jim plz sponsor me
scrambling back up the ridge
scrambling back up the ridge
this is the nice wide ledge to avoid the snow getting to/fro SGC, ~7300'
this is the nice wide ledge to avoid the snow getting to/fro SGC, ~7300'
We took a nice long break when we got back to SGC, I "swam" in a glacial meltoff tarn to cool off- it was hot!
ravens frolicking around SGC
ravens frolicking around SGC
chonky marmot ready for winter
chonky marmot ready for winter
There were lots of people hiking the arm enjoying the fall colors, and we even saw a bear again! We ran into Ian and Rodica, who had just done Stormking, at the pass and chatted for a bit before our final descent back to the cars. Great weekend out with bae. Watch stats: 24 miles 10,200' gain (altho Alden's watch said 13,600'???)

Choss is a girl's best friend

Fedor, RichardJ, wallorcrawl, Now I Fly, SeanSullivan86, freddyfredpants, mosey, neek, Eric Gilbertson, jaysway, RichP, Tom, zimmertr  RossJames, awilsondc  ozzy
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GeoTom
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GeoTom
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PostWed Sep 28, 2022 6:16 am 
Good to see the unicorn is alive and well in the Boston register. up.gif
Quote:
I actually did Horsehoe like 8 years ago when I was a basic student in the Mounties, I remember the descent gully into Horseshoe basin bc it was the first loose gully I had ever been in, I thought it was super sketchy at the time, probs more so bc the climb leader left me and another basic student at the top and told us to "figure it out." That whole trip was p awful actually, the leader sucked, we got benighted, but all in all it ended up being the impetus for me taking a bunch of courses and learning how to plan and lead climbs on my own
Interesting. When I went up Horseshoe and Buckner several years ago we ran into a small (5 people?) Mounties party on the same general itinerary. After we returned, we heard that they had stayed out an extra night after not making it back up the gully towards Sahale camp. Looking through my notes that was in early September, 2014.

Knows literally nothing
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GaliWalker
Have camera will use



Joined: 10 Dec 2007
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Location: Pittsburgh
GaliWalker
Have camera will use
PostWed Sep 28, 2022 7:54 am 
~*CutebutChossy69*~ wrote:
another vantage of mystery items
another vantage of mystery items
Wow, if you hadn't put up the previous photo, I would have thought that was a person lying there. paranoid.gif

'Gali'Walker => 'Mountain-pass' walker bobbi: "...don't you ever forget your camera!" Photography: flickr.com/photos/shahiddurrani

~*CutebutChossy69*~
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~*CutebutChossy69*~
bluebagprincess



Joined: 08 Jul 2019
Posts: 58 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
~*CutebutChossy69*~
bluebagprincess
PostWed Sep 28, 2022 8:51 am 
GeoTom wrote:
Interesting. When I went up Horseshoe and Buckner several years ago we ran into a small (5 people?) Mounties party on the same general itinerary. After we returned, we heard that they had stayed out an extra night after not making it back up the gully towards Sahale camp. Looking through my notes that was in early September, 2014.
That sounds about right for timeline and group size! Yea the leader told us when we got back to camp that we weren't hiking out that day... everyone was stunned. Why didn't we just turn around at some point earlier in the day? And why wasn't his plan to stay out an extra night communicated earlier?? There was daylight left to go up the gully, but we didn't.

Choss is a girl's best friend
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Blowdown
Sawin' Logs ...



Joined: 24 Aug 2011
Posts: 375 | TRs | Pics
Location: On the Summit
Blowdown
Sawin' Logs ...
PostWed Sep 28, 2022 9:50 pm 
Great effort! Please keep the fun TRs coming! They are literature! up.gif up.gif

~*CutebutChossy69*~
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SeanSullivan86
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SeanSullivan86
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PostThu Sep 29, 2022 9:25 am 
Nice trip !! Kind of surreal seeing Schroder's name in that register on Boston from 55 years ago. Same guy who posts here I think (since he put EMRU in the register)?

~*CutebutChossy69*~, zimmertr
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RossJames
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Location: Kennewick, WA
RossJames
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PostSat Oct 01, 2022 1:27 am 
~*CutebutChossy69*~ wrote:
We had more snax and Alden took a super zoom pic of Ross and Aaron on Forbidden smile.gif
Hi Ross & Aaron!
Hi Ross & Aaron!
Thanks for sending the super zoom pic! It was fun to play relay with the reception on the peaks haha I tried zooming in 15x on my iphone 13pro but couldn't make out any bumps on your summit. Happy anniversary btw!

Downhill  ~*CutebutChossy69*~
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Thedrunkbaguette
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Thedrunkbaguette
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PostMon Oct 03, 2022 11:58 am 
Hey did we not get any tits in that Slim Jims shot?! Dammit. Well now I have to go find that red thing. It looks like my Alpha FL pack from Arcteryx mixed with your common balloon. Mysterious indeed.

~*CutebutChossy69*~
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Brushbuffalo
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Location: there earlier, here now, somewhere later... Bellingham in between
Brushbuffalo
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PostTue Oct 04, 2022 9:36 pm 
~*CutebutChossy69*~ wrote:
mystery items
mystery items
I think it is a piece of gear that was blown off SGC or other and ended up here...tent, tarp, jacket, pad?

Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
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