Sloan Peak, Corkscrew Route

Activity Notes

This route has it all: a beautiful alpine approach, glacier crossing, and a granite summit block with 3rd class scrambling (maybe a move or two of 4th class). The crux just may be the river crossing at the beginning of the approach. There will be at least 2 crossings of the North Fork of the Sauk about 1/2 mile from trailhead which typically entail crossing on fallen logs in the river so feeling comfortable on log crossing is essential.

After that the climb gets steep. Climbers should be fit and able to keep a steady pace and able to hike steep terrain while moving with fewer/ shorter breaks (the leader likes to keep a pace of III on the Mazamas scale of I to IV, so on the faster side of most Mazamas climbs). We'll camp either in a small meadow by a tarn at about 5,200 feet or possibly just off the trail before the glacier at 6,100 feet.

Summit day we will get on to the glacier around 7 AM, traverse the glacier to the east side of the base of the summit pinnacle. The corkscrew route goes around to the west side and is mostly class 2 to class 3 with a possibility of a class 4 move or two. We'll return to camp and rest before heading down to the cars and crossing the N Fork of the Sauk one last time. I expect to be at the cars no later than 5 PM if all goes well. Some may wish to return home in the evening but it's a long drive after a long day on the mountain so be prepared to spend a night camping in the area if we return late.

It's about a 5.5 hour drive from PDX and meeting at trailhead at 10 AM, returning the following day mid to late afternoon.