Educator Expedition: Tough Choices in the North Cascades

Looking out from the summit of White Mountain. Photo by Nate Whitcomb

By Nate Whitcomb, NOLS Instructor

Tolerance for Adversity and Uncertainty. Many a NOLS student would be able to define this leadership skill in his or her own way, using the same basic philosophy. “Things didn’t go as planned, at all, so we adapted and made the best of our situation.” This sums up my most recent trip to the North Cascades with a peer NOLS instructor and a friend.

The plan, which started in early January, was to travel along the Ptarmigan Traverse in the North Cascades and pass into the Glacier Peak Wilderness over a nineteen-day span and make a summit attempt on Glacier Peak. With good spring-like conditions this was, in our estimation, an ambitious route given the timeframe and objective hazards that could be present along they way. Each group member wanted additional mountaineering experience and knew this would fit the bill. NOLS was able to provide the group with enough funding to cover food, gear rentals, gasoline, and re-ration charges through the Instructor Development Fund available to all NOLS instructors. That being said, the group felt optimistic about the route and a start date was set for the 29th of March.

On our first day of travel, the winter weather that had not hit the North Cascades all season decided to roll in on us at Cascade Pass. We received over 8 inches of snow in less than 12 hours and hunkered down to wait things out. After digging several snow pits the next day and assessing the continuing storm conditions, we decided to create a “Plan B” and pull out of Cascade Pass on day one of the expedition. This was an extremely hard decision to make, as it meant that all of our months of planning had gone by the wayside. We knew the hard choice was the right choice after discovering a persistent buried weak layer in the snowpack and knew there was a week of winter weather on the way. These conditions would only make travel in the steep Cascades that much more dangerous and avalanche-prone and put even more stress on our timetable.

The group returned to NOLS Pacific Northwest and sorted out other objectives in weather window gaps that we identified throughout the region. We were able to summit Mt. Baker on Easter (April 5), explore the North Cascades on day expeditions, and make a multi-day summit attempt on Glacier Peak in wintry conditions. Even though the trip didn’t go as planned, the group learned countless lessons about managing hazards in dynamic conditions. We were able to experience fast changes in objective weather hazards and create plans that made sense and allowed us to travel safely. We also were forced to deal with and manage our own mental subjective hazards of wanting to finish our original objective in spite of the difficult weather conditions we were facing.

Thank you NOLS and the Instructor Development Fund for allowing us the chance to explore Cascadia!!!

“It’s not an adventure until something goes wrong.” -Yvon Chouinard

Summit of Mt. Baker. Photo by Jeff Huntington

Did this post spark your interest? Read more adventures from NOLS Educator Expeditions on our Educators Notebook page and visit our website to find out how to start your own NOLS adventure, take an alumni trip, and more.