Forbidden Peak Northwest Face Climb

GALLERY

DETAILS

Join Us on 3 Days Climb of Northwest Face of Forbidden Face Climb

The Northwest Face of Forbidden is a big and complex route with a circuitous approach across the largest glacier in North Cascades National Park. Complete with solid rock climbing up to 5.8 in difficulty and on-route bivies, this is a must-do route on every Cascade alpine climber’s ticklist.

We offer either a three or four-day itinerary for Forbidden Peak Northwest Peak climb route, depending on climbers’ previous experience, fitness, and learning goals. We approach the route from Boston Basin, which is famed for its beautiful position above lupin-filled meadows, cascading creeks, and humbling views of Johannesburg Mountain’s massive Northeast Face. We then ascend the Quien Sabe Glacier for a short distance before passing over Sharkfin Col via two rappels and dropping onto the remote and expansive Boston Glacier. Traversing the crevassed glacier we reach a notch in the North Ridge of Forbidden Peak, and ascend by climbing a steep gulley of snow, dirt, and rock. On the top of the North Ridge we find a flat area for a magnificent bivvy with views of Moraine Lake, Eldorado, Boston Peak, Mount Buckner, Glacier Peak, and hundreds of jagged glaciated summits across the Cascade Range. The adventure continues as we drop onto the Forbidden Glacier and traverse to the toe of a rib that leads directly to the summit of Forbidden Peak. We ascend the rib, which is knife-edge in places before it blends into the face above. After reaching the summit we descend the technical knife-edge West Ridge of Forbidden to a bivy site high on the ridge for another incredible night under the stars. Our final day takes us back down to Boston Basin via a series of rappels and out to the cars.

Difficulty in Forbidden Peak Northwest Peak Climb:

5.8 rock climbing in rock shoes. 5.6 in mountain boots.
Steep snow up to 50 degrees
Ice climbing/traversing up to 50 degrees
Climbing with a light-weight overnight pack
Grade IV

Prerequisites for Forbidden Peak Northwest Peak Climb:

Previous multi-day backpacking experience
Previous glacier travel and crevasse rescue experience. This can be gained on our Mountaineering Skills Course.
Previous multipitch rock climbing experience, preferably in an alpine setting. This can be gained on our Alpine Rock Climbing Course..
Excellent physical fitness. This trip involves long days on-the-move in the mountains while carrying a pack weighing around 30 to 35lbs. This pack will be carried while climbing rock, ice, and snow. Most participants will need to train specifically for this objective. Take a look at our Alpine Climbing Training Program for some specifics.

NOTE: For those without the required prerequisites we can add custom training days to the itinerary as necessary.

Duration

3 Days 2 Nights Camping

Gear check

Required

Passport

Not needed for US citizens

Minimum Age

16 years old

Activity

Alpine Rock & Ice Climbing

Accommodation

Tents

PRICE BASIS

PRICE INCLUDES

Fuel, Pots, and Stoves
Tents
Group climbing equipment
Guide Services

PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE

Transportation
Parking or entry fees (when applicable)
Food or drinks
Accommodation before or after the course
Personal clothing
Personal climbing equipment (rentals available)
Gratuities for guides

ITINERARY

Day 1 :

For three-day itineraries you will meet your guide at the Boston Basin Trailhead at 6:30am. Your guide will have collected your permit the night before. After a quick gear check you begin hiking up to Boston Basin, taking a short break at the lower camp around 9:30am before continuing. You then head up and over Sharkfin Col and rappel down to the Boston Glacier. A two-mile traverse leads you to a snow and dirt gulley that you climb to reach your campsite on the North Ridge for the evening. This is a long and difficult day, and your rest is well-deserved. Enjoy incredible views over blue lakes and sun-glazed mountains as you bed down high on the ridge.

Day 2

We wake early today, aiming to depart camp just before sunrise but with enough light to see. We descend steeply down the Forbidden Glacier, then traverse to the start of the spectacular Northwest Rib of Forbidden Peak. Making our way to the rib can be tricky, as crevasses, hard glacial ice, and a moat can make progress slow. Once on the ridge we swap boots for climbing shoes, and ascend on low-fifth-class terrain to the crest of the ridge where we reach a gendarme. Beyond this the rib steepens, and brings us through the crux of the route and up through a chimney feature. The chimney has some poor rock near its start, but above this we begin to the true North West Face of Forbidden Climb , which has remarkably good rock and excellent crack systems. We make sure to stay right of an open bowl to our left, and ascend to the summit of Forbidden in 8 to 11 more pitches of climbing up to 5.6 in difficulty. After a brief rest at the summit we descend the West Ridge of Forbidden, passing other parties as we down climb and rappel to a notch between Forbidden Peak and Mount Torment. We bed down here after another long day to enjoy another evening under the stars on an alpine ridge.

Day 3 :

On our final day we sleep-in a bit, and wake around 7am and are underway by 8:30am. We descend the Catscratch Gulley via 6 rappels, and descend a remnant glacier to the upper Boston Basin Camp. We then continue down the trail past the lower camp, and head down through the forest and back to the cars, arriving around 2pm. We then head out for a well-deserved celebratory late lunch en route back to Seattle.

FAQs

General FAQ's

Testimonials

I was part of a group that summitted Mt. Baker in early August this year. Overall, it was a great experience. I went into it not knowing what to expect from a guided climb (my past few had been unguided) and was pleasantly surprised. I was concerned that I'd be bored, but was happy to find that they did a great job juggling our group's varying skill levels, and I walked away feeling like I had learned and progressed as a climber. Ben and Anthony are both very knowledgeable (you can always learn from guides, it just depends how much time they have to teach!) and I found myself getting a bunch of new experiences even just in the 24 hours that we climbed. I was also impressed by their abilities to read us and judge when clients needed encouraging or advice. They did a great job managing us, and I remember the moment that my attitude turned from "this isn't going to happen but it's still experience" to "holy crap, we have a shot!" After toughing it out through some rain, blustering winds, and low visibility, the skies cleared up and we had our chance. Thanks to Ben and Anthony for the positive attitudes and guidance that weekend! I'd definitely join them again in the future.
Eve Jakubowski
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
This was my first time technical/glacier climb under great guides assistance & summited Mt. Baker & can't wait for more to come, see you soon ;)
Zuzana Svitek
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
I've climbed Rainier and Baker (+several other training hikes) with Sandeep and other guides from Miyar Adventures. The climbs were made super fun, safe, and informational. With Sandeep's detailed prior planning, extensive know-how of the mountaineering practices, and long climbing experience, you know the climb is going to be safe with great chances of summit. Before all big climbs, Sandeep does an indoor session to discuss the itinerary and answer any concerns. You'll definitely learn a lot whenever you spend time with Sandeep. He has expertise in all forms of climbing: mountaineering, rock and ice. So it also makes it easy to try other activities because you already know the guide well. I've taken instructions from few other guides as well and I wouldn't doubt to state that Sandeep is the best guide I've climbed with! He'll keep you motivated and answer your questions with patience. He'd have fun stories to tell from his rescue ops, first ascents, or other hard climbs. He is ready to make adjustments based on the preferences of the group which is a key in making the trip not only successful but also enjoyable. I can't recommend Miyar Adventures enough! Give them a try and you'll be glad you did.
Prateek Sharma