Glacier Peak Climb | Miyar Adventures
DETAILS

Join Us on a 4 Day Climb of Glacier Peak

Called Takobia (also spelled Dakobed) by the Native Americans of Puget Sound, Glacier Peak is the most remote of all volcanoes in Washington State. Its heavily glaciated slopes are guarded by alpine meadows leading down to ancient old-growth forests of fir and cedar. All approaches to this mountain require more than ten miles of foot travel. For the mountain wilderness lover, Glacier Peak is the jewel of the Cascades.

During this four-day Glacier Peak climb, we take the Gerdine and Cool Glaciers route, involving trail, cross country navigation, and glacier travel. Our guides provide instruction in backpacking and mountaineering during the approach and on the climb. Due to the distances that must be covered, previous backpacking experience is required for this trip.

Skills Covered during the Glacier Peak climb:

  • Selection of personal equipment and packing for a glacier climb
  • Ice axe positions and self-arrest techniques
  • Use of crampons
  • Walking techniques with and without crampons
  • Climbing knots
  • Glacier travel skills and rope management
  • Navigation and route finding
  • Hazard assessment
  • Cold weather camping skills
  • Leave No Trace


Please note: Gear checks are required and available the day before your trip start date. They are available weekly at Ascent Outdoors in Ballard from 6:30pm-8pm on Thursdays. If your trip does not start on a Friday we will schedule a custom gear check at Ascent Outdoors the day before your trip start date.

  PRICE BASIS
PRICE INCLUDES

  • Stoves
  • Tents
  • Group climbing equipment
  • Guide services
  • Pre-trip planning information
  • Backpacking, mountaineering, and general outdoor safety skills
  • Discounted gear purchases and rentals
PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE

  • Food
  • Transportation
  • Personal climbing equipment and clothing
  • Travel and evacuation insurance
  • Gratuities for guides
ITINERARY

Please note:This is a tentative itinerary. The actual trip schedule may change due to weather, unsafe route conditions, or for other reasons beyond our control.

Day 1: Hike to base camp
We meet very early at a Park and Ride in the Seattle Area. It is important that water is filled and backpacks are already packed and ready to be carried when we meet at the trailhead. Because of the early time of our departure, stores may not be open to purchase last minute food and supplies. After a 2.5 hr. drive we reach the North Fork Sauk trailhead along a gravel road. The trail begins relatively flat until reaching the Mackinaw Shelter (2,950 ft.) after five-and-a-half miles. We refill our water and begin the steep three mile climb to White Pass (5,904 ft.) with awesome views of the Cascades such as Indian Head, Cadet, Mt. Johnson, Monte Cristo, Sloan Peak, and White Mountain. We may camp near White Pass or continue on, depending upon the weather forecast for the coming days and the condition of our team. If continuing, another two miles and 800 ft. of elevation brings us to Glacier Peak Meadows where there are many campsites and glacier melt for water. This day will be between nine and twelve miles of hiking with more than 5,000 ft. of elevation. It will take between eight and eleven hours of walking to reach camp.
Day 2: Skills Practice
Today we will practice mountaineering skills near Glacier Meadows, including snow walking techniques, ice axe positions, self-arrest, and rope team travel. We take lots of rest to recover from yesterday. We go to bed early in preparation for our early wake-up tomorrow to begin the climb. If the weather report looks bad for tomorrow, we may make this day our summit day instead of a practice day.
Day 3: Summit Day
We will wake around 1am to begin our Glacier Peak climb, which will take between nine and twelve hours round-trip. First, we ascend the gradual slopes of the White Chuck Glacier before passing through a col to reach a fin of rock sticking above the glacier on the other side. We walk along this fin of broken rock (called a “cleaver”) and then drop back to the snow when the terrain becomes too steep to continue. We continue under Disappointment Peak and onto the Cool Glacier. The final few hundred feet are on low angle snow to reach the summit, complete with panoramic views of surrounding mountains, glaciers, rivers, forest, and aqua blue lakes. We return to camp for some well-deserved rest. Depending upon how we are feeling and the weather report, we may pack-up and move camp down this day.
Day 4: Return
We again wake early to take down camp and begin the long descent back to the cars. Going down is much faster than ascending, but descending more than 5,000 ft. in a single day with a full pack is still difficult. It will take between six and seven hours to reach the trailhead. We then head to town and congratulations. We have completed one of the most remote, spectacular, and physically challenging Glacier Peak climbs the Cascades has to offer!
Testimonials
  • Mount Olympus Summit

    Sandeep is possibly the best person (Miyar and guides) in the business to take you on the mountains. Anyone who has trained with him to summit Rainier over the years can tell you how much he cares about his peeps. Talk to him and he can always find a way to make it happen. I have been trying to climb Rainier for few years with personal constraints (need to be always available, can return anytime, 24*7 sat phone access etc) and many times I had to return mid climb from big ones like Baker and Rainier. It was really easy to talk to the guides about this situation. I never once felt unsafe on the mountains. This is a big deal given how much we learnt when it comes to snow skills and glacier training. Be safe and go with Miyar!

    Vivek Garg
  • Climbing Mt Baker

    What an awesome experience to go on climbing Mt. Rainier with Miyar Adventures. Sandeep and his team of guides ( Kirk, Alexis, Joe, Ben, Chris, Jasmin ) did an awesome job to lead the multiple rope teams trough snow skill preparations and guiding through safely on glacier journey. The amount of efforts put into multi-month preparation, pre-trip meetings, accessibility to gears for rent and attention to details with food/weight/personal gears were all instrumental in almost all of us (in a group of 24) able to summit Mt. Rainier and have wonderful memories. We knew we were in best company and safe hands with prior experience with Miyar Adventures led climb to Mt. Baker and few other preparation trips. And guides calibrated their approach from novice climbers to experienced climbers to push enough to have an enjoyable experience. I highly recommend to go with Miyar Adventures on amazing trips they have lined up around the Puget Sound Area and internationally.

    Harshit Shah
  • Mt Baker

    If you are interested in doing any climbing or hiking but need a guide , I highly recommend Miyar Adventures...Sandeep is a wonderful person and you will actually learn (and practice ) climbing and crevasse rescue techniques in addition to the trip/climb ...it is definitely beyond a just a "get you to the summit" experience. He genuinely cares and brings in other excellent guides for bigger groups. My husband and I recently successfully made it to the summit of Mount Baker with Sandeep, two other guides and a group of friends and we had a fantastic experience. He and the guides he works with are very knowledgeable so I had confidence in their abilities to lead us but they are also very friendly and fun so that overall trip was enjoyable. I will definitely climb with Miyar Adventures again!

    Monica Henry