Background
For years, I’ve wanted to do the Fisher Chimneys route on Mt. Shuksan. I remember hearing about it for the first time on a climb of Mt. Baker, staring over at the rocky features above Lake Ann and wondering where does it go? As I made more friends in Washington, many of them guides, I heard more and more about the route, from camping below Winnie’s Slide to late season ice climbing. As I got more into trail running, though, more mountaineering focused routes like the Fisher Chimneys faded from my interest for a while, as I sought out flow-ier, faster routes mostly on trail.
This summer, though, I’ve very much been enjoying more mountain-focused routes that blend running and climbing. While I was away in Iceland, my buddies Nick and Porter put down a fast time on the Fisher Chimneys route, climbing up in 3:19 and round trip in 5:45. I was impressed! Also a little motivated to see what I could put down on the route, I won’t lie. My buddy Ari who lives up in Bellingham reached out about running Glacier Peak but I was able to pivot us to the Chimneys. We made a plan to do the route on Wednesday, as crowds can significantly change the feel of run / scrambling the route. We were psyched!
Trip Report
We were in no hurry for an early start, leaving Bellingham at a 9A for a planned 1030A start. We met up with Ari’s friend Kalie in Glacier, who’s a Canadian skyrunning crusher. Little did I know we’d be a team of 3 with a pro!
The weather was perfect for a later start, as the clouds gave way to a lovely, clear day. We got started running down to Lake Ann in cool temps, making quick work of the descent. The terrain towards the Chimneys was gorgeous, amazing views looking over at the lower Curtis Glacier and moraine. I’ve not spent much time up around Shuksan and the Baker Ski Area in the summertime, this was a lovely new experience to me!
Ari pointed the way up the initial pitch towards the Chimneys and we began launching upwards. The scrambling in the Chimneys just got better and better as we ascended; nothing exceeded 3rd, with maybe a touch of 4th class here and there. There were certainly some loose rocks to kick around, but thankfully there was nobody above us and we were quite mindful to not kick anything down on the folks below us.
Once atop the Chimneys, we threw on crampons (for me) / microspikes (for Ari / Kalie) for Winnie’s and the Upper Curtis. Our timing was pretty good, but the route was definitely on the tail end for ‘running’ style. There was juuuuust enough snow to give good purchase above the ice, but in a week or two I could see that melting off. We had axes and took our time trying to cut steps for our future selves on the descent.
On the climb up the upper Curtis we saw a bear! What are you doing up here Mr. Bear?!? The upper Curtis is always a sweet position, no matter if you’re going to ski something rad on the upper slopes of Shuksan or ‘trail running’ the Fisher Chimneys. We shuffled our way over to Hell’s Highway, where again we had juuust enough snow and were thankful for axes and spikes/crampons.
One more uphill to the base of the summit block then up the SE Ridge for us. The movement and position on the SE Ridge was sooo fun, with great holds and texture the whole way. There were some 5th class moves for sure but most of the movement was 4th class and felt secure. We topped out in 3:15, which felt solid. We were psyched! We snacked on the summit, looking around at the smoke to the east and peaks to the south. The Luna Peak fire was clearly burning, as the northern Pickets were largely obscured.
None of us felt motivated, nor psyched, to bomb the downhill in pursuit of a time so we chilled out and mosied down. Descending down Hell’s and Winnie’s took some care, this time we put on gloves to keep our hands from the chilling snow. We didn’t see Mr. Bear on our descent, sadly.
I got quite warm on the climb back up to the trailhead but that was my lack of care in keeping myself hydrated, cooled, and fueled. Oh well! All in all it was such a fun day, with amazing variety of terrain and efficient movement!