<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/54036429411/in/album-72177720320775581/" title="Sunrise with White Pass, Johnson Mountain and Mt Rainier"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54036429411_4d406876ba_b.jpg" alt="Sunrise with White Pass, Johnson Mountain and Mt Rainier"/></a> # Stats and Links - [Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/albums/72177720320775581) - 34 miles, 9000ft gain - Elapsed time: 17 hours (2am - 7pm) - Gear: Hoka Speedgoat, Scarpa Mescalito - Area: [[Glacier Peak Wilderness]] # Report The retreat of the White Chuck glacier ( [https://glaciers.nichols.edu/deathglacier/](https://glaciers.nichols.edu/deathglacier/) ) has left behind a surreal landscape. The glacier was relatively flat. After the glacier died, it left behind the most remarkable basin with boulders spread out in a seemingly random fashion. There is still almost no vegetation in the basin, except a bit around the lakes that formed. In 2014, I did a first backpacking trip in the area ( [[2014-09-05 - Whitechuck Glacier]]. In 2016 I did a day trip to White Mountain from Cady Ridge ( [[2016-09-28 - Cady Ridge to White Mountain]] ), which had spectacular fall colors. This was one of my first long distance day trips. I remember it being an imposing distance at the time. It was a glorious day and I still have a vibrant red landscape photo printed on metal here. In 2018, I went back to the basin itself with a day trip to Kololo ( [[2018-10-20 - Kololo]]). It was a beautiful late fall day with clear skies and beautiful contrast in the landscape. I have been working on my fear of heights by doing more challenging scrambles this summer and Monday I saw an opportunity to travel to [[Glacier Peak]] and do the Disappointment Peak scramble route. However, late in the evening on Sunday I saw the first reports coming in of heavier snow showers having occurred than I anticipated. I still headed out in the same direction, but instead of gear for Glacier Peak, I packed my real camera and hoped for the best. I started at 2am (the road has uncountable potholes btw) from the [[North Fork Sauk Trail]] with a chill tempo to conserve energy and made it to White Pass in four hours. Until White Pass there was no fresh snow, but the Foam Creek side of the mountain had a fresh dusting with a bit more snow in wind transported areas. It got pretty cold there too. With frosty soil and snow, I wasn't too excited about doing the steep down and up at the end of the Foam Creek trail, so I opted to head up the notch between White Mountain and Marmot Knob. I was happy with this route choice. The timing was extremely fortunate: right when I got to the notch, the sunrise was there. I was happy to warm up a bit in the sun and the sunrise with White Pass and Glacier Peak was magnificent. I did a descending traverse in the general direction of the climbing route and traversed the White Chuck basin, this time following the blue dotted line a bit more than on previous trips. The views were still spectacular to me, in particular with the low sun and the added contrast of the fresh snow. At 10am, I arrived at Glacier Gap. It was pretty clear to me that I would not enjoy the scramble (and definitely not the glacier) with the fresh snow, so I took it easy heading up the ridge as far as I liked. The Gerdine Glacier looks pretty sad, but the Suiattle Glacier looks not so bad. I have wanted to do a tight circumnavigation of Glacier Peak according the Route & Rocks book for a while, and this Cool High Route section on the SE side now looks totally doable without glacier complications. The SW side of Glacier Peak also looked extremely bare of permanent snow or ice. I suspect other glacier-free routes up Glacier Peak exist now, or will soon. I turned around at about 7800ft. I did not think the scenery would get better further up Disappointment Peak. I preferred to do a slower tour out via Red Pass. I briefly visited Glacier Gap Peak. While I was at the summit there, I saw two people heading up the trail below. These were the only people I saw in the area. I do not know if they made it to the summit. The route to Red Pass was very enjoyable, in particular with White Mountain being actually white. The traverse from Red Pass to White Pass always freaks me out though. You have to be on high alert because any accidental tripping appears to send you 2000ft down a slippery grass slope. With some jogging on the way down, I made it back to the car before dark. # Route <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/54254610826/in/album-72177720320775581" title="Glacier Gap"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54254610826_c22f18b0c2_b.jpg" alt="Glacier Gap"/></a> # Highlights <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/54035568582/in/album-72177720320775581/" title="Glacier Peak with fresh snow"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54035568582_e0de34aedd_b.jpg" alt="Glacier Peak with fresh snow"/></a> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/54036685793/in/album-72177720320775581/" title="White Chuck basin views: ridge between White Mountain and Portal Peak in the center. Monte Cristo mountains in the distance."><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54036685793_d26abe0297_b.jpg" alt="White Chuck basin views: ridge between White Mountain and Portal Peak in the center. Monte Cristo mountains in the distance."/></a> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/54036878315/in/album-72177720320775581/" title="Suiattle Glacier and Glacier Gap"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54036878315_0c4ceebcd6_b.jpg" alt="Suiattle Glacier and Glacier Gap"/></a> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/54036877780/in/album-72177720320775581/" title="View from Glacier Gap area down the Upper Suiattle drainage. Background: Bonanza,. Fortress, Fernow, Napeequa"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54036877780_6d54d0044c_b.jpg" alt="View from Glacier Gap area down the Upper Suiattle drainage. Background: Bonanza,. Fortress, Fernow, Napeequa"/></a> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/54036751954/in/album-72177720320775581/" title="White Mountain and Lake 6433"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54036751954_41acaefbdd_b.jpg" alt="White Mountain and Lake 6433"/></a> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/54036751594/in/album-72177720320775581/" title="White Mountain (Pt 7043) and Red Pass, Glacier Peak Wilderness"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54036751594_058b938d9c_b.jpg" alt="White Mountain (Pt 7043) and Red Pass, Glacier Peak Wilderness"/></a> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/54035562142/in/album-72177720320775581/" title="White Pass and Indian Head Peak from the PCT traverse from Red Pass to White Pass."><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54035562142_1169d91f04_b.jpg" alt="White Pass and Indian Head Peak from the PCT traverse from Red Pass to White Pass."/></a>