These two grand freestanding mountains, Shuksan and Baker, are a prominent mountain athlete curiosity as they stand on the skyline...
Can they both be climbed in a day?
Individually, both Mount Baker and Mount Shuskan are classic Pacific Northwest climbs and coveted ski descents (as documented in "Fifty Classic Ski Descents"). Normally, Baker is a two or three day guided climb, while Shuksan is often done in one or two days.
However...
The objective here is to use any mountain routes to summit both Mount Baker (10,781 ft) and Mount Shuksan (9,131 ft) within 24 hours, TH-TH...or in the case of the FKT as fast as you can, from first trailhead to last. (you are allowed to drive between the two trailheads between climbs *drive responsibly*) Or bike between and claim the "multisport" FKT!
This Grand Northern Double FKT problem presents the attempter with interesting challenges to solve for...
which mountain first?
sun aspect?
glacier condition?
which routes on each mountain?
what time of day?
All in all, a doubly-classic way to spend a weekend. Enjoy.
Submitted by Jason Hardrath and Nathan Longhurst (after they did the GN Double as a part of finishing the "Washington Bulgers" in 50 and 94 days, respectively)
Comments
Thanks for posting this. The linkup is an undeniable question to many that have climbed one of these peaks. For skiers, there’s an excellent version of this route called the “Monika Traverse” pioneered by Ryan Lurie and Gregg Oliveri in 2011. I repeated it this spring: https://turns-all-year.com/trip-reports/kulshan-to-shuksan
Agreed, this FKT should probably go to Benjamin who climbed both Shuksan and Baker in 16h16m on June 27, 2021.