Trip Date: September 10-12, 2000
Mt. Logan Climbing Trip
Lake Chelan / Stehekin Landing
Park Creek Valley
Park Creek Pass
Fremont Glacier
Mount Logan (9087/9097 ft)
Trip Report Summary
Region: Northwestern Washington Cascades
Sub-Region: Thunder Mountains
Area: North Cascades National Park
Starting & Ending Point: Park Creek Trailhead on Stehekin Valley Road (Elev. 2300 feet)
Way Points: Two-Mile Camp & Park Creek Bridge & Five-Mile Camp & Buckner Camp (trail hike)
Campsite: Buckner Camp
Sidetrip: Park Creek Pass & Fremont Glacier Saddle (trail hike & off-trail hike & rock scramble)
Summit: Mt. Logan (snow climb & rock scramble & rock climb via Fremont Glacier—South Ridge)
Approximate Stats: 21 miles traveled; 9000 feet gained & lost.
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Full Trip Report
Laura and I were determined to climb Mt. Logan over Labor Day weekend and then on the weekend after, but the weather just didn’t seem to be cooperating. We’d been in a pattern of dry weekdays and wet weekends for a month now, and this was no different. The forecast even called for snow down to 5000 feet through Saturday night! Rather than cancel our plans, we decided to shift our weekend. We worked on Saturday, then took Monday and Tuesday off to do the climb. This meant that we needed to use only one precious vacation day for the three-day trip. Our plan worked beautifully.
Day 1: Fields Point to Stehekin to Park Creek to Buckner Camp
It rained lightly during our boat ride up Lake Chelan on Sunday morning, but upon arrival in Stehekin, we could see some blue sky up-valley.
- Jim and Laura At Stehekin Landing
By early afternoon, when we dismounted the shuttle bus at the Park Creek Trailhead and started hiking up Park Creek, the sky was mostly clear. It was cloudless when we reached Buckner Camp at 4:30pm (2.8 hours from TH). I had never been up Park Creek before and was astounded by the views of Buckner and Goode. All of the high peaks had a light dusting of snow.
- Mt Goode From Park Creek Pass Trail
Day 2: Mt. Logan Summit Climb
Monday morning, we were up at 4:00am and on the frost-covered trail at 4:35am under starry skies. The entire approach to Park Creek Pass (2.1 hours from camp) and the Fremont Glacier (6.4 hours from camp) went pretty well, with only a few minor route-finding errors.
- Mt Logan Above Fremont Glacier
We followed the description in Beckey’s book and in Potterfield’s Selected Climbs book. Both descriptions are good, but determining which rocky points are the critical waypoints is not easy. In any case, there are lots of options for accessing the Fremont Glacier from below. Some are easier than others.
- Boston Glacier From Fremont Glacier
The new snow covering the talus was crusty and hard, which made for good progress. Traversing the glacier at 11:30am, we were down to shorts and t-shirts in the broiling sun. Hard to believe it had been freezing and snowing here only two days earlier!
- Climbing Snow Rib On Fremont Glacier
However, the 12 to 24 inches of snow on the summit rock above the glacier gave us some doubts about the rock scramble. We elected to rope up and put in running protection for the exposed traverses on snowy ledges, as well as on the steep summit tower.
- Climbing South Side Ledges On Mt Logan
The Class 3-4 scramble portion was slow but enjoyable, and the fresh snow gave the feeling of climbing a bigger mountain in the Alps. Our time on the summit (9.7 hours from camp) was too short to fully absorb the awesome views of all the surrounding snow-dusted peaks.
- Mt Goode From Mt Logan Summit
Descending was tedious, especially when traversing the upper snow-covered talus fields. By mid-afternoon, the morning’s crust had softened so that our feet would randomly punch through, sometimes dropping into the voids between talus blocks. I felt lucky to escape without a gashed shin, twisted ankle, or worse! We reached Park Creek Pass at sundown, then finished our hike down to camp (5.7 hours from summit) with the aid of headlamps and a full moon.
Day 3: Buckner Camp to Park Creek to Stehekin to Fields Point
The weather was warm and sunny for our trip out to the trailhead (2.0 hours from camp) and Stehekin on Tuesday morning. We did the mandatory stop at Stehekin Bakery for cinnamon rolls, and at Fields Point we took an invigorating swim in Lake Chelan before driving home. All in all, it was a wonderful three days.
Photo Gallery
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