Mt. Triumph, NE Ridge

Activity Notes

This is an adventurous climb intended for AR grads or ICS grads with significant alpine rock experience.

Mt. Triumph is a steep and dramatic pyramid tucked away just north of Newhalem on Highway 20. Its Northeast Ridge offers one of the best moderate alpine climbing routes in the Cascades, and the summit provides a front-porch view of the seldom-seen Picket Range.

The approach takes most of a day and includes bushwhacking and steep scrambling. The rock climbing includes simul-climbing and pitched climbing, including a 5.6 or 5.7 off-width crack with exposure. The route is complex, and unplanned bivies are common. The basin crossing between col and ridge involves some objective danger from sliding snow/ice, which we will minimize with careful timing and routefinding.  

Check out the route on Mountain Project at mountainproject.com/route/106029386/northeast-ridge

The plan: We’ll meet at the Thornton Lakes trailhead on Sunday around 10:30 a.m., which means either leaving town Saturday afternoon and disperse-camping near Marblemount, or leaving town by 4:30 or 5 a.m. Sunday. We then climb at least to the col above Middle Thornton Lake. Monday, we cross the basin, gain the ridge, climb the route to the summit, downclimb/rappel the ridge, and re-cross the basin to the col (perhaps waiting for cooler evening temps before proceeding). Tuesday, descend to the trailhead and drive home.

This team will be small and carefully selected. If you apply, please ensure your rock climbing resume is included in your Mazama profile, or follow up with the leader(s) by email with those details.