10 minute read
SEWS BY SOUTHWEST
by Brian Hague
Up in the North Cascades lies one of the best areas for alpine rock climbing in Washington State, but did you know that it’s also a great destination for snow activities during the winter and spring?
Washington Pass lies at 5,477 feet along the North Cascades Highway, and it’s been well-known for decades due to its highquality granite rock and accessibility to a variety of summer activities. Whether you like hiking and scrambling, cragging, multipitch climbs, or big-wall style routes, there’s something for everyone here. During the winter, the pass closes due to deep snow piling onto the highway. But that’s only the beginning for winter fun. Skiers venture to the pass via skis, snowmobile, and even helicopter for bounties of bowls, couloirs, and glades. Once the highway opens in the spring, the area provides a brief window for easily accessible ski touring and mountaineering.
My first experiences in Washington Pass was hiking to Blue Lake and climbing the Beckey Route on Liberty Bell. I was intrigued about venturing into this area with more snow on the ground. Some research online and in books led me to the Southwest Couloir of South Early Winters Spire (or SEWS for short). While typically a screefest during the summer, this route fills in during the winter, with conditions varying between filled-in snow or icy rock depending on the season and time of year. Most of my sources recommended accessing it within a month of the highway opening in the spring. In 2024, the highway opened April 19, and the clock in my mind started ticking.
Thanks to an easy approach, a trip up the SW Couloir only needed a good weather window and a few days’ notice. The warm weekend of May 11–12 seemed favorable, and a trip report from the week prior confirmed that the couloir would be in good shape for at least another week or two. Accompanying me was my friend and co-worker Jeroen, a rock climber and aspiring mountaineer. Given the short approach and non-committing route, this was a great opportunity for him to try out some steep snow and practice crampon and ice axe skills. I drove up from Portland on Saturday and met him in Seattle. After a quick gear check, we drove an additional 3.5 hours up to the Blue Lake trailhead near the pass. Once we arrived, we downed some Jersey Mikes subs that Jeroen brought (perhaps a subtle nod to Fred Beckey’s “will belay for food” sign) and got some rest for an early start.
Well … sorta. We awoke at 3 a.m. and promptly agreed that we needed an extra hour of sleep. At 4 a.m., we got ready and hit the trail. Knowing that this was Jeroen’s first mountaineering trip, we planned to go at a slow but steady pace and be willing to bail if needed. As we ascended into the basin below Liberty Bell, we were treated to beautiful alpenglow illuminating the surrounding spires and peaks. It was going to be a great day in the mountains.
Three hours later, we got to the base of the couloir and took an extended break. After our break, we traded hiking poles for ice axes and racked up for the couloir ahead. As mentioned previously, climbing the SW Couloir is dependent on conditions. Given the 2023–24 season’s thin snowpack and the beta from last week’s trip report, I thought we might need to protect some portions of the climb. I racked up a smattering of nuts, tri-cams, and cams for rock protection. I also brought a couple pickets and ice screws just in case, as well as extra webbing, cord, rappel rings, and locking carabiners for potential rappels. With all our gear ready and our bellies filled with snacks, it was time to head up the couloir.
Our first challenge was navigating around a large “chockstone” (debatable, but it was Beckey’s words, not mine) with deteriorating snow bridges on both sides. We hooked right and carefully made our way up and around. Once past, we continued our way up as the couloir steepened to around 30 degrees. At a fork in the couloir, we hung right to stay on route. We noticed a rap station made up of two pitons, a sling, and a taped carabiner serving as a makeshift locker. Considering that we might want the option to rappel rather than downclimb, I made a mental note for our eventual descent.
As we ascended and saw these pitons, I couldn’t help but step back in time to when the first climbers ascended these spires. The first ascent of SEWS was made via this same couloir in 1937. The biggest difference back then was the lack of a highway. Climbers faced a long 16-mile approach to reach the base of the Liberty Bell group. After a failed attempt to build a highway across Cascade Pass (hence the existence of Cascade River Road), the North Cascades Highway opened in 1972. A 16-mile approach became an easy 2 miles. While easy access usually means more people, there’s still plenty of opportunity for solitude out there. On the way to this couloir, we saw a few climbers, backcountry skiers, and a dog. Once on the route, we were the only party.
As we continued up, the environment got more interesting. The snow was in good shape as the couloir steepened to about 40–50 degrees. With Jeroen following me, I noticed that there was a section ahead where the couloir narrowed. I radioed in and asked Jereon to find a safe place to stop while I went ahead and checked it out. As the rock walls closed in, the snow turned into a mixture of rock and ice, requiring a bit of mixed climbing. After soloing through this section, I looked up and saw a small rock recess with an anchor, followed by more exposed rock and ice. I figured the best and safest course of action would be to set up an anchor, throw down rope to Jeroen, and give him a belay through the rock/ice mixture. After belaying him up, we pitched out the last section towards the top of the couloir.
A wonderful quality of this climb is that there’s protection everywhere on the right side of the couloir. Depending on comfort level, it can be soloed or pitched out. For the next pitch, I placed a stubby ice screw, a tricam, and a couple cams in some deep, dry cracks on the way to a notch just below the summit. This pitch was a 60 meter rope stretcher. Slinging a tree and placing a .3 cam provided an anchor for this long pitch. I belayed Jereon up to the notch. After catching our breath, we were presented with a beautiful view of the hairpin turn of Washington Pass, the Early Winters Creek basin, and Kangaroo Ridge. Looking down skier’s left, we could see footsteps from folks who topped out on the South Arete. And then all of the sudden, BOOM! We were treated to a wonderful show of avalanches coming off the cliffs across the basin. With Glacier Peak poking up over the snowy North Cascades, the view was the highlight of the climb.
After we took a short breather, I could tell we were starting to “bonk” after a strenuous bit of climbing. While this route can be soloed in about 30–60 minutes from the couloir’s base, we spent two hours protecting it and pitching it out. We remembered our plan at the beginning of the climb, to be conservative and bail if needed. Although the true summit was only 40–50 feet of 4th class climbing, a bit of snow on the route may have warranted another short pitch and/or rappel. We agreed this notch was “good enough.” The summit wasn’t going anywhere, and the view from here was more than enough for us. It also meant getting back to Seattle in time for dinner, getting back to Portland at a reasonable hour, and perhaps having a reason to come back to climb the South Arete during the summer.
With the sun warming up the snow and our energy waning, we knew the descent required our full attention. Our plan was to rappel the route until we got past the steep patches of ice and rock. At that point, we could downclimb the less steep portion of the couloir. At the notch, I left behind some webbing and an aluminum rap ring, taking us down skier’s right on the rockier part of the couloir to a slung tree. One more rap took us to an alcove with a huge boulder, followed by an overhanging rappel over another boulder and down onto the snow. One more rappel, using the station we saw on the way up, took us to the beginning of the couloir where we passed the chockstone. With crampons off, I introduced Jereon to glissading and we were full of laughter as we slid down a couple hundred feet more. Once the slope became more gradual, it was plungestepping all the way on a beautiful spring day. In a few hours, we were back at the car, chatting with folks doing early-season ascents of other routes in the area.
The SW Couloir is just one of many alpine activities around Washington Pass. During the winter, access is limited from the east via the town of Mazama. This continued on next page town, nestled within Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, is a winter destination in itself due to North America’s largest crosscountry ski area nearby: Methow Trails. Featuring dog-friendly trails, a reservable hut network, and numerous places to rent gear, Mazama provides a great basecamp for XC ski enthusiasts. Winter fat tire biking (a sport growing in popularity) and snowshoeing can also be done on these trails.
For those willing to venture out farther towards Washington Pass, backcountry enthusiasts hire guides or find someone with a snowmobile to get up to the pass itself. North Cascades Mountain Guides provides snowmobile-accessible ski touring, while North Cascades Heli provides helicopter-accessible skiing and remote yurt trips.
Once spring arrives and the North Cascades Highway opens, the pass becomes a lot more popular and accessible. Similar to the SW Couloir, many alpine climbs in the area are only in good condition for a month or so once the highway opens. One example is the Early Winter Couloir on North Early Winters Spire. A step up from the SW Couloir, this climb features more challenging mixed climbing and usually has a cornice that climbers must go around, over, or even through (yes really, there’s a tunneling option according to one trip report).
Ski touring is probably the most popular springtime activity, with numerous couloirs, bowls, and traverses that can be linked together in various ways. Some of the most popular and documented tours include the Birthday Tour, Kangaroo Couloir, and Silver Star Mountain–a good beginner mountaineering objective usually accessible into late summer.
If you find yourself making the long (six-plus hours from Portland) drive to the area, the town of Mazama is a perfect basecamp. North Cascades Mountain Hostel (in nearby Winthrop) can provide affordable lodging, while numerous hotels, lodges, and cabins can provide a more luxurious experience. For those looking for a more rustic experience, campgrounds such as Lone Fir, Early Winters, and Klipchuck provide first-come, first-serve camping. My personal favorite areas are the Washington sno parks in the area, which are large and free to camp in from April to October (sno park pass required otherwise). Yello Jacket and Goat Creek provide parking and vault toilets perfectly fit for the dirtbag climber camping in their car. Be sure to also check out Goat’s Beard Mountain Supplies for gear and beta, as well as the Mazama store for food, groceries, and coffee.
