The approach to Glacier Peak starts by accessing the Mountain Loop Highway out of Darrington, WA. From the trailhead it is about a 5.5 mile “flat” hike to Mackinaw Shelter. From here, depending on the weather, the elevation gain begins where we gain numerous switchbacks and 2600’ of elevation, before a long traverse to White Pass camp. Occasionally on very hot days, we will camp at Mackinaw Shelter and do an early start to avoid climbing the south facing switchbacks in the heat of the day.

From White Pass camp, and after a good night of sleep, we will continue traversing a few drainages to get up and over Marmot Knob and into the glaciated basin towards high camp. We will traverse under the remanants of the White Chuck Glacier, which is one of the most quickly receding glaciers in the area. From here, we will do a final climb up towards Glacier Gap at 7300’ and camp in this vicinity.

Summit Day typically starts from Glacier Gap and timing will depend on weather and mountain conditions. We will climb up and over Glacier Gap Peak and up the ridge to the Gerdine Glacier. Here, we don harnesses, ice axes, and crampons, although in some conditions we will need to put these on a bit earlier. At the location we put this gear on, we will do a “snow school” that focuses on teaching the skills required to climb and descend back to camp safely.

After traversing the Gerdine Glacier and climbing up past Disappointment Peak, we will get on the Cool Glacier, where we climb up to the pass and get off the glacier. Again depending on conditions, earlier in the season we will continue our climb with axe/crampons, but later in the season this will become a dirt/rock path we are able to climb up to the true summit of Glacier Peak.

At the top we will soak in views and take lots of pictures, before descending back the way we came.

On a 4 day itinerary upon arriving back at High Camp we would break camp and walk a few miles back towards the White Chuck Glacier

We hike back the way we came, descending from High Camp, back past the White Chuck Glacier, up and over Marmot Knob and over to White Pass. From here we would descend all the switchbacks to Mackinaw Shelter, where we would stay for the night.

After a relaxing wakeup time, we will indulge in a nice breakfast, before hitting the trail. We take 2-3 breaks and this walk typically takes 2.5-3.5 hours back to the trailhead.