North Cascades National Park

The Cascade Range in the Pacific Northwest is notable as the largest glaciated range in the contiguous 48 states. Within the range, the North Cascades is where one can find the best technical alpine climbing. There is moderate terrain with easy access and variety of difficulty. This is a great venue for an introduction to alpine climbing and preparing for bigger objectives in Alaska and the Greater Ranges of the world.

The transition from Peak Mountain Guides to Mountain Trip has happened! Please contact Mountain Trip’s Telluride, CO office at 970-369-1153 for more information.

North Cascades National park is host to an immense variety of climbing.

The Introductory Classics

Boston Basin is the base camp for Forbidden Peak, Boston Peak, Sahale, and Torment. The Sharkfin Tower and many other features are host to incredible moderate climbing.

Mt. Shuksan is possibly the most photographed mountain in the Northwest. Adjacent to the Mt. Baker ski area, the largest seasonal snowfall ever recorded in the world was here. Shuksan is a beautiful varied mountain surround by hanging glaciers and topped with a 600′ rocky summit pyramid.

Need More NoCa Stoke…

Eldorado Peak is a great zone to link up a number of more difficult routes on the Dorado Needle, Early Morning Spire, and the Peak itself. It’s also possible to link up an epic traverse involving challenging rock climbing, exposed ridge traversing, steep snow climbing, complex glacier travel, cross-country navigation, and spectacular bivies through all of the aforementioned objectives!

Season

Conditions are generally good for alpine climbing in the North Cascades from late May to August. Exact dates depend greatly on the objective.

Group Size

This is a private program, no one else will be paired with your party. If your group is larger than 2, we apply a group discount and additional guides are added to keep the guest to guide ratio at 2:1 or lower.

Time and Place

This page describes custom programming. Each expedition will be designed depending on the goals and abilities of the climber.

Equipment List

All the technical climbing equipment and group expedition camping equipment required for this outing is included.

West Ridge: This route begins from a scenic backcountry camp in Boston Basin and ascends a pocket glacier to a steep snow couloir. The West Ridge itself involves a rising traverse up to 5.6 in difficulty and the classic “au cheval” technique of straddling the knife edge ridge.

North Ridge: This route combines it all, remote alpine climbing, solid rock climbing, exposed ridge traverses, complex glacier travel, and an incredible bivy halfway through the route.

Northwest Face: With rock climbing up to 5.8 in difficulty and 2 separate glaciers to navigate, this is a greater undertaking than the West Ridge. Expect multiple long days with a bivy on route. The NW Face is a marque route in the North Cascades!

Mt. Shuksan’s striking pyramid of rock rises from a bed of glaciers, it’s no wonder it is the most photographed mountain in the North Cascades. The Fisher Chimneys route offers climbers 3 days of unique obstacles each day including: a technical approach to a scenic bivy overlooking Mt. Baker, several steep snow and ice pitches, significant glacier travel, and a 600 foot moderate 5th class rock ridge guarding the summit.