The Sherpa Glacier Couloir on Mount Stuart is an awesome ski tour. Located on the eastern side of the North Cascades it is both big and in a cold area. With the long approach it is far from the masses but well worth the effort. The steep north facing slope holds powder longer then most of the surrounding mountains . If there is good snow anywhere in the Cascades it is almost always going to be on the Sherpa Glacier.

While most of the winter in the Cascades had been a drought spring seemed to have make up for it. Rain was ravaging the lowlands but it was coming down as snow in the mountains. With stable weather and the possibility of over 2 ft of fresh on the E side of the Crest we had a plan. Scott and I decided to check out the Sherpa Glacier and its north facing slopes of Mount Stuart.

Heading up Mountaineers Creek towards Sherpa Basin on Mount Stuart

I met Scott at 4 a.m. in Goldbar and we started making our way over Stevens Pass on highway 2. The further East we drove, the better the weather became as we passed by the Chiwaukums then Lake Wenatchee. Quickly the rain turned to blue skies, and soon we found the road blocked a mile from the Mountaineers Creek trailhead.

We set off under the dawn skies by skinning into the Alpine Lake Wilderness and following the creek. We were situated between some of the biggest Granite mountains in the lower 48 states. Blazed through over a foot of fresh snow following the popular trail towards Colchuck Lake we crossed numerous creeks along the way. After 5 miles of skinning we finally got our first view of Mount Stuart and its massive granite towers. We were in awe of our potential line and stoked to find so much fresh snow above us.

 

Before long we were off the trail and creating our own path. Loosely following a small drainage the terrain wrapped towards the Sherpa Glacier Basin. Travel was hard in the densely forested slopes but the view of our objective kept us on path.

 

Climbing the Sherpa Glacier

Within 4 hours we were getting into the alpine with views of Argonaut and Sherpa Peaks. When we finally reached the Sherpa Glacier Basin the weather was slowly deteriorating. Looking to the top of the peaks we could see clouds moving in from the west.

 

With almost two feet of snow on the slopes we had to be careful of potential avalanches. We minimized exposure by keeping distance from one another when putting in switchbacks. Choosing our route we went on slopes that had already naturally released. The climb would be over 2000 vertical feet of open slope. Before long we would arrive at the base of the Couloir.

 

By the time we had reached the couloir the weather had deteriorated dramatically. What was originally the occasional cloud had become a stormy mass. It had overtook the mountains that were surrounding us. We skinned just below the cloud deck, feeling as if any moment we’d poke through and into the fog.

 

Climbing the Sherpa Glacier Couloir on Mount Stuart

Once arriving at the couloir we skinned above the bergshrund and switched over to crampons.  Bootpacking up the steep chute we kicked each step in firm, wind-compacted snow. The slope quickly got steeper as we reached the crux and were happy to find stable snow.

 

We pushed the final bit to the top of the col and finally found ourselves in the cloud deck. Being exposed on the ridge we were greeted with blustering winds and low visibility. We had originally intended on heading to the summit of Mount Stuart a thousand feet above. With the weather being so bad it quickly became apparent that this would be a recipe for disaster. We found shelter behind a rock spire and transitioned to our snowboards. Below us was 3000 vert of powder conditions in May.

 

Snowboarding down the Sherpa Glacier

I dropped in first quickly realized that while the snow was firm, it was easily edgeable. Situated between massive granite walls, I rode all the way down to the upper apron and waited in a safe zone. Soon Scott was ripping down the line, until we reached the pow. From here on out the snow kept getting better as we dropped elevation.

 

While the couloir was good the apron was much better. One at a time we rode over the shrund and before long we were making our way down the Sherpa Glacier.

 

It was exactly what we expected with two feet of dry snow. Smooth and fast, we milked each turn. Riding down the Sherpa Glacier we negotiated the glacial toe, its vibrant blue jutting out of the fresh snow. Once on the moraine we rode well over 1500 feet of wide open terrain with not a single rock sticking out of the slope.

 

 

Each turn delivered face shots that were bitter sweet– as we rode down the final slopes, we knew that these could be our last powder turns of the season.

As we reached the bottom we both looked back at our tracks and exchanged exclamations of the excellent conditions. At that moment we didn’t care about all of that hard work climbing in and out of Sherpa Basin, finally we had just experience something we both knew was rare.

 

The Exit Out of Mountaineers Creek

The retrace went fast as we followed our ascent route back to the car merely minutes before the sun set. It had been a long day of over 18 miles and 15 hours and while we didn’t make it to the summit, it was a amazing experience.

Thank you for reading this trip on the Sherpa Glacier on Mount Stuart. If you want to see more ski tours within the Stevens Pass Backcountry check out this link.