Thursday, December 7, 2017

Route: Whitehorse Mountain via Northwest Shoulder (Mountain Loop Highway)

Mountain Information:

Driving Directions:

  • Trailhead: Neiderprum Trailhead
  • Co-ordinates: 48.2511104,-121.6764304
  • Address: Niederprum Rd, Darrington, WA 98241
  • Elevation:  918 ft
  • Pass:  Northwest Forest Pass
  • Directions 
    • Mountaineers: "Drive north on I-5 through Everett. About 11 mi north of Everett turn right (east) onto SR 530 to Arlington. Continue on SR 530 about 23 mi east of Arlington (5 mi west of Darrington) to Shell Station at Mine Road/387 Av. Turn right (south) and in 0.5 miles park at the closed bridge over Moose Creek. Walk the road, turning left at each of the next two forks. Shortly after crossing Furland Creek, the trailhead is marked “Niederprum Camp” (on the right, about 2 mi from the store)."
  • Weather forecast
  • Avalanche danger forecast:  

Route Information: Northwest Shoulder

















 

 Misc 

  • NWHikers.net trip reports
    • Whitehorse Mountain has it all: The mountain itself is spectacularly beautiful, especially from the little town of Darrington at it's base: The views from the summit are world class in all directions; the hike in and the climb are difficult enough to be forever memorable; and the solitude, especially considering this mountain's proximity to habitation, is remarkable.
    • Whitehorse Mountain is a classic peak you want to save for a picture perfect day. You also want to catch this one when the conditions are just right. With a trailhead at 900 feet and the summit at 6,840, you will experience a summit that probably turns back over 50% of those who attempt it. It’s not just the elevation, the route finding, steep trail, steep snow traverses and glacier bergschrund issues all cause people to turn back.
    • Starting Point: FSR 2030 (c.750'), or Niederprum Trailhead (918')
    • Mountain Skills: Route finding,  ice axe, crampon, steep snow/ice climbing, avalanche assessment (class 3-4 rock later in season)
    • The trip starts out on Trail #953, the Niederprum trail. After around a mile of swithchbacks, the trail is more of a fisherman’s route, built by boots working their way up as fast as possible. Keep this up another mile, now having gained 4,000 feet. Eventually, the trees thinned out and we headed up on snow slopes to Lone Tree Pass. Once at the pass, take the ridgeline for a mile or so. A trail should exist in summer; in fact it apparently continues (doing ups and downs) all the way to the final climb up to High Pass. In spring/early summer this will all be snow covered. Work you way along and then below the ridge until you find the correct ascent gully to High Pass. From the pass, you will see the route across the glacier and up to the summit. In spring/early summer this is relatively safe, from July on you will encounter crevasse and a major bergschrund near the summit. Instead of snow, your summit will be climbing 5th class rock for 60 feet or so. No matter when you go, bring ice axe, crampons and some pickets to be safe. The snow was extremely icy.
    •  Everything needs to be good for an ascent of Whitehorse, the weather and more importantly the avalanche conditions, good route finding would be the key to a successful climb. The biggest difficulty seemed to be the traverse on the south side of the mountain, finding the gully leading to High Pass in particular. The view from highway 530 is helpful, but certainly incomplete. 
    • The bridge over Moose Creek 1/2 mile south of hwy 530 has been closed and barricaded due to "unsafe" conditions. You can still walk across. This will add 2.6 miles RT and an extra 400 vertical feet to your already epic quest.
    • Winter ascents can be made directly up the Wellman basin on the north face of the mountain once the snow is deep enough to cover the brush and small trees. The adjacent basin, Snow Gulch is also sometimes used for winter ascents/descents and is at least as steep as the Wellman route. These are shorter routes but with an average slope of over 50 degrees it looks pretty grueling. 
    • Getting to Lone Tree Pass (4973') is not difficult, but is moderately steep in places. 
    • From Lone Tree Pass, follow the ridge east for about a half mile. One description said to follow the ridge until further progress is stopped by a buttress but I didn't see the point in going higher than about 5200 ft. and began descending SE until above the small basin with a lake mentioned in most descriptions of this route. You do not have to descend all the way to the basin before beginning a rising traverse below cliffs. The traverse is long and steep and continues until you can go no further without climbing a cliff. High Pass (6032') is located west of a prominent tower (pt. 6357'). A broad gully leads to the pass which allows easy access to the So-Bahti-Ahli Glacier, more commonly referred to as the Whitehorse glacier.
    • This route is long and strenuous with less room for error than many peaks but well worth the effort. Expect to ascend 6800 feet by the time it is all over on slopes averaging about 35 degrees. The traverse on the south side is tiring and the threat of falling ice is present much of the way.
    • Car camp  is recommended as this is a very long climb and requires an early start in the morning. The other climbing route via the Whitehorse Glacier should be avoided as it is dangerous (avalanches, rockfall). This climb is an excellent conditioner in early season. Consider stopping at the Texaco station (where Whitehorse Merchantile used to be) and looking at route before climb (Lone Tree Pass is not obvious from directly below).
    • Bridge over Moose Creek closed and barricaded for safety reasons in 2008.  You can car camp at the closed bridge.
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