TRAVELS AND OBSERVATION ACROSS THE MAJESTIC NORTH CASCADE GLACIERS  

Report of the North Cascade Glacier Climate Project 2000 Field Season
Mauri Pelto, Director (NCGCP), Nichols College, Dudley, MA 01571:
peltoms@nichols.edu: www.nichols.edu/departments/glaciers/

After 3 abnormal seasons (1997 snowy and wet, 1998 hot and 1999 snowcovered) the 2000 field season offered a more typical North Cascade summer, heavenly.  Dry conditions and mild temperatures prevailed for the entire three weeks.  Ben Barrett of Seattle, Bruce Williamson of Seattle, Paula Hartzell of Concrete and Ed Blanchard of Cambridge UK, joined me for intensive mapping and mass balance observations on 13 glaciers.  Mass balance is the measurement of snow accumulation on the glacier minus the snow and ice melting from the glacier.  A positive mass balance leads to a glacier thickening and eventually advancing.  A negative mass balance leads to glacier thinning and retreat.  We used the increased accuracy of the GPS, after the military took off the random errors in the system, and a laser ranger to map the surface profile of each glacier.  This provided a measure of the surface elevation of the glacier from terminus to head that could be compared to maps made in the 1950’s and 1980’s to identify long term glacier changes.

            On July 30^th we ascended toward Blanca Lake and camped adjacent to snow near Virgin Lake, mosquitoes force us quickly into the tent.  The next morning we navigated to and around Blanca Lake, with only one of us Bruce sliding to the waist into the lake.  The snowpack in the area was above average with the entire glacier still being snowcovered only in 1991, 1997 and 1999 had this previously been the case.  The average snow depth on the glacier was 3.2 meters.    The depth was determined using a five meter long segmented steel probe that easily penetrates the snowpack of the past winter but not the previous years.  With normal ablation (melting) over the remaining 60 days of the melt season the glacier should lose 3.0 meters of this snowpack.    Bruce and Ben checked the glacier again on Sept. 22 and found that 2.7 meters of snowpack had been lost.  This glacier then gained mass this year about 0.2 m of thickness this year.  Since the detailed mapping of this glacier in 1958 the glacier has thinned 12-15 m at 5000 feet. 

The highlight of this campsite was Paula’s cooking demonstration in which the pot grips, heather and some koolaid that looked like powdered milk disappeared in the pot of pasta and sauce.  The sheer comedy overcame the resulting flavor.

            Our next stop was Camp Kiser on Ptarmigan Ridge.  The road was closed at Heather Meadow, leading to an extra climb to Artists Point.  At Artist Point the attempts to clear the parking lot were progressing slowly.  The main cause being the 3-5 meters of 1999 snowpack left.  This snow had not bee cleared last year and had now significantly hardened.  The trail out Ptarmigan Ridge like last year was untracked beyond Table Mt..  We saw a group of 22, mountain goats just before Camp Kiser.  A survey of the Sholes and Rainbow Glacier indicated snowpack was high here as well.  The Sholes Glacier was still totally snowcovered and only a few small patches of blue were exposed on Rainbow Glacier.  Measurement of the snowpack in crevasses on Rainbow Glacier indicated that 2.7 m of snowpack remained, which will lead to an equilibrium mass balance by the end of the melt season.  A check of the glacier in late September by Paula indicated that this is the case.  The Rainbow Glacier had retreated 150 m since 1996 and 320 m since 1984. 

            After covering ten miles and ascending 2500’ from the terminus of Rainbow Glacier to camp we found a marmot had eaten an entire 1 pound bag of plain m&m,s.  Slinking through the grass the marmot appeared ready for more.   Shortly thereafter a coyote passed by sending all the marmots scurrying to safety.

            We returned to Heather Meadow and resupplied for the hike into the Lower Curtis Glacier via the Lake Ann trail.  The trail had 27 downed trees providing excellent steeplechase practice, still not an Olympic sport yet.  We had hit our stride after one week of work, or I should say our appetites had hit their stride.  I have spent 20 years doing this kind of field work, and never had a group with such an appetite.  Ben and Ed were the food carriers, fortunately, being younger and bigger.  Breakfast featured consuming a 3 lb bag of granola every morning, dessert was a one pound bag of m&m’s etc. 

The Lower Curtis Glacier had not retreated since 1998 as the terminus was still covered by a little bit of 1999 snowpack.  The terminus will melt out and retreat some in the late summer.  We used a laser ranger to demonstrate that in the middle of the glacier the Lower Curtis Glacier has thinned by 10 m since the last map of the area from 1975.

We circled Mt. Baker to survey the Easton and Squak Glaciers.  The heavy food bags required to sustain this group made the ascent to camp at the end of the Easton Glacier more arduous than usual.  The Easton Glacier terminus was exposed and retreating.  The retreat since 1984 amounted to 240 m.  The glacier is still in advance of its 1940 position, but seems to be headed quickly back to a similar point.  This is evident in the 1931 photograph.  Notice the cliff on the west side of the glacier, this cliff has a painted terminus marker on it and is 200 meters below the current terminus position.  At 5600 feet the glacier had thinned 12 m since 1985, but at 7500 feet the glacier had thinned only 2 m.  We spent two days mapping and measuring the snow depth at 170 locations on the Easton Glacier, most in crevasses.  We also replaced stakes in the glacier left by Ben to measure melting.  The stakes indicated 2.45 m of melt in July.  Last year the world record snowfall of 1131 inches at Mt. Baker Ski Area was certified.  This was magnified to 2283 inches at 8000 feet, see Figure 1.  This year the maximum snowfall on Easton Glacier was lower than usual at 7000 feet, with just 4 meters of snowpack remaining compared to 8-9 m last year.

The Squak and Deming Glacier termini were checked both retreating only slightly in the last two years. 

Cascade Pass was the next destination.  We stayed at Mineral Park, a nice setting, but deteriorating.  We hiked up to the Cache Col Glacier, which had snowpack similar to 1995, 2.5 m , this would lead to a negative mass balance by the end of the summer.  The terminus cave was open and beautiful.  Paula was awed by the large totally blue aura of the glacier base.  Caves under a glacier are only created during retreat at the margins, since movement is slow then and does not close up the melt out openings.

The next day we ascended the climber’s way to Quien Sabe Glacier.  Grueling, the glacier is retreating rapidly, partly because of the smooth bedrock base.  This hard granite rock also makes for the good climbing on Forbidden Peak.  Quien Sabe Glacier for its modest slope and small size is badly crevassed because of the rapid flow allowed by the polished smooth granite base.  The glacier had retreated 85 meters since last checked in 1992.  It is tough to erode, and unlike other North Cascade glaciers the glaciers in this basin generate minimal erosion and thus, the North Fork Cascade River despite input from numerous glaciers lacks the green tint of most glacial streams. 

We headed south and east to Lyman Glacier after a dip at Lake Wenatchee State Park, featuring waves sufficient to body surf in.  A cool but sunny day was perfect in this often warm location.  Lyman Glacier is retreating slower, and the ice cliff at the terminus into the lake is getting higher.  The ice cliff is now 28 m high.  Snowpack was near average, which for the last two decades means a modest negative mass balance.  This was expected given the fairly average snowpack at the Lyman Lake USDA Snotel site.

            We experimented with m&m poker that night, and since we were all beginners the winnings were fortunately evenly shared.  This is an excellent choice for rain inspired tent time. 

            Our last stop as always is Mt. Daniels.  The hike in was quick partly because of the mosquitoes after passing Squaw Lake, forcing us to move fast enough to outpace their wings.  We camped ¼ mile beyond Peggys Pond in the bare rock area below Ice Worm Glacier, the wind was stronger, but the bugs nearly absent.  After measuring the Ice Worm Glacier, slightly negative mass balance, we summitted the East Peak of Daniels.  A cold wind soon drove down onto the Lynch Glacier, where clouds dominated the west side.  Snowpack in the numerous crevasses on Lynch Glacier was less than 1995, 1996, 1997 or 1999.  This glacier had the highest negative balance of any glacier.  It also has a high mean altitude of  7100 feet.  The terminus area was steeper than ever leading to a challenging down climb.  We ascended back up the glacier and enjoyed fantastic glissading down the Daniels Glacier. 

            The next day we surveyed the Daniels Glacier and found a modest negative mass balance and no retreat since 1996.  This glacier also has a high mean altitude of 7200, and very little avalanche accumulation.  We summited the Middle and Main Peak of Daniels for lunch in cool sunny weather, before descending the Ice Worm Glacier.  As this glacier has retreated the snow slopes have steepened.  In general glaciers reduce surface slopes, smoothing the terrain, as they retreat the terrain left behind often is much more difficult altering basic long held climbing routes.  The last night we were saved by a visit from a fellow camper Shawn Terjeson, from down by Peggy’s Pond, driven upwards by the bugs, he came with extra chocolate earning considerable esteem. 

          Overall glaciers lost mass balance in 2000, the exception were on the western side of the range and at lower elevations.  This demonstrates the lower maximum snowpack zone than usual and the failure of weather systems to carry as much moisture across the crest.  Also the Columbia Glacier has suffered through the warm weather of recent years because of its low elevation.  This past winter and spring were noticeably cooler favoring and improvement in the Columbia’s overall condition.  Skiing into the whiteout in search of answers on the changes in our glaciers will be the ongoing pursuit of this program.

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