An absolutely stellar late summer day on Mt. Shuksan (North Cascades, WA)
I'm out in Washington's North Cascades- working various alpine guiding programs over the last few weeks and now training with Emilie and fellow AMGA Aspirant guides for an upcoming final AMGA Alpine Guide exam. Craig was out visiting family in Portland and joined me for a climb of Mt. Shuksan via the super classic Fisher Chimneys and SE summit ridge. I've climbed it before (it is one of the '50 Classic Climbs' in North America- and the 'most photographed mountain' in the lower 48)- but I can't imagine I'll ever get a nicer day than this one: a pleasant night, full moon over Mt. Baker as we climbed the chimneys into the sunrise, great glacier conditions due to late spring snowfalls, views all the way south to Rainier, north to Garibaldi and west to Vancouver Island, and a great partner and teammate. This is what alpine climbing is all about! - JW
