Mark Johnson, lead guide for the second half of the June 13 Alpine Mountaineering and Technical Leadership Part I program, returned to AAI's Bellingham office on June 24 and reported a highly successful trip. Course participants spent the first five days of the program on the south side of Mt. Baker, where they practiced glacier skills and made the summit. After that, the group loaded up in the vans and drove to Washington Pass where they planned on doing some rock climbing on South Early Winter Spire via the South Arete.

"We started out from the parking lot in light rain which quickly turned to snow," Mark said. "By the time we got to the base of our climb it was full on snowing so we just waited around a while to see if it would pass over. But it didn't, so we all decided to just go for it, pitch by pitch, and see how far we could get. There was no wind and we stayed quite warm. The snow kept mountain but the route was definitely doable. We moved up bit by bit and after each pitch everyone was doing just fine so we kept going. The route was so mentally engaging that before we knew it we were at the summit - we were so focused on our movements that suddenly we were there. The summit itself was anticlimactic because we couldn't see anything due to the weather. It was a great climb though, really good for everybody to complete a climb in that kind of weather. They were happy to have the 'big alpine experience'".

The next day, Monday, the group set off to climb Whistler Peak. They began on easy snow slopes that gradually became steeper as they drew closer to a ridge near the top of the snowfield. "The clients were leading on the snow and for part of the ridge and doing great," Mark said. "But then the guides took over as the climbing became more and more difficult. The last section up to the summit had some nasty rock and was covered in 3 inches of snow, with wet lichen underneath. This route is normally 4th class to 5.0, but it was pretty intense given the conditions." The group reached the summit and had some great views of the surrounding mountains and the lakes down below. "It was an incredible climb," Mark remembers. "We were glued to the weather all day long watching for threatening changes. While the spires across from us stayed socked in all day long, we had beautiful views and good visibility on our peak. We were lucky."

Ready for a break from the exposed alpine environment, the group traveled the next day east from Washington Pass on Highway 20 down to the small town of Mazama where they spent a day practicing rock skills at Fun Rocks. "We worked on developing a range of rock skills. Mostly, we enjoyed being warm!" Mark said the group learned about setting up anchors for a top rope, thoroughly practiced rappelling, and also began to attempt steeper, harder rock routes. "We focused on setting up anchors using natural protection like trees and rocks. It was a very productive day."

On Wednesday the group woke early and drove back up to Washington Pass with the plan of climbing a classic - the Liberty Bell. However, when they got to the pass the weather proved to be terrible - heavy rain and snow plastering the Liberty Bell from halfway on up. "We decided we needed a new plan," Mark said. "So we drove over to the west side of the Cascades to Rockport and used the big picnic shelter they have there to practice more glacier skills. We laid out the z-pulley system for crevasse rescue, and had long discussions about our upcoming climb on Shuksan. The students were going to lead the Shuksan climb, so they had to figure out what gear to take, when to leave, what the route would be like (mileages, elevations, etc.), what time we should be out of camp, and who should be on which rope team and in what position. It was a great chance for the students to do some critical thinking and to develop their leadership skills."

On Thursday the group began their venture to Shuksan. From the parking lot they hiked first on trail, then on glacier until they reached 6,500 feet where they set up their High Camp. Mark said, "When we got to our High Camp at 2pm the weather was pretty socked in. But then later in the evening it opened up and we got some fantastic views.

Unfortunately, the good weather didn't last through the night. "We out of camp by 3:30am in a complete whiteout," Mark said. "It was pretty thick, only about 100 feet of visibility. The students had taken some bearings on the map the day before and when the weather cleared enough they were able to compare the bearings with the actual landforms they could see - everyone was excited when they proved correct." The group stayed to the left side of the glacier the entire way up the mountain, using the ridge as a guideline through the fog. The visibility varied greatly, ranging from about 300 or 400 feet to zero feet, but even so the group found the base of the summit pyramid perfectly. From there, the guides took over leading the route on steep, 50-degree snow slopes. "It was beautiful climbing," Mark said. "Really nice neve - great for cramponing. Prior to that we hadn't used crampons because the snow had been so deep that we had to break trail. Right near the top we veered off onto a thin ribbon of ice that was about 40 - 50 feet long, which we belayed to gain the final ridge. Then there were just 30 vertical feet to the summit - about 6 moves on rock." By the time the group reached the summit the weather had cleared out. They broke out right above the top of the cloud layer that had fogged them in and had great views of their camp, Upper Curtis and White Salmon, and Baker sticking up through the clouds. "It ended up being a great day," Mark said, "The clouds blew away and we could see the whole mountain beautifully. It was just a spectacular climb. Usually it takes a couple of hours to get up the main gully through the rocks, but these students did it in about 45 minutes.

The descent was fairly uneventful, with snow that was slushy from the warmth of the sun rendering calf to knee-deep conditions. Mark said, "We took a straight line to camp because we could see clearly all the way down, but our students took a bearing just in case the weather turned again. It was an excellent experience for the students. We had a great summit all together after a tremendous alpine experience and everyone felt like they really learned how to deal with adverse weather. The climb was definitely a boundary setter and provoked in the students a whole new mindset about what was and wasn't possible."