Mazamas — For the Love of Mountains
The most commonly misspelled peak in Oregon and one of a handful of alpine rock routes, this is a fairly easy day climb. It may look quite challenging from the start, but the technical climbing is just one pitch of easy 5th class rock at the top. Duct taping your boot tops is recommended for the scree descent. An apres climb swim in Diamond Lake is recommended.
Known as “the Lightning Rod of the Cascades”, the striking summit of Mt. Thielsen is the 7th highest peak in Oregon. The peak was named for a pioneer road builder, Hans Thielsen. It is similar in age and structure to Three Fingered Jack and Mt Washington, where glaciation and other types of erosion have left a relatively solid exposed plug of basaltic andesite. The plug is excellent rock in contrast to the rest of the mountain, which is generally poor. There is a small remnant glacier on Thielsen, and thus summiting this peak qualifies one for Mazamas membership.
The first ascent was done in 1883.
Activity Notes
This is a great day climb of a technical rock pitch. It is a 4th class scramble up the final summit pitch, but since it is very exposed I will put in a fixed line for everyone to prussik up safely and then we will single strand rappel off the top. This is a fantastic climb to employ your BCEP rock knowledge skills. This will be a chill rock climb so don't be nervous if you feel a little rusty on your skills we will help you through the safety checks. Rock climbing shoes aren't necessary.
You will need harness, helmet, personal pro with locking biner, prussik with locking biner, rappel device with locking biner, and autoblock with locking biner. Forgetting any of these items means you won't get to summit.
I highly recommend camping the night before at Diamond Lake campground (Broken Arrow is what I'll be trying for). Bring your swim suit because we will go swimming to cool off after the climb during the hottest part of the day, and there is a really decent pizza place with brews nearby for dinner afterwards. If you plan to camp out the night before/after, bring shower accoutrements since there are also hot showers available.
| Other Information | |
|---|---|
| Driving Distance from Portland | 250 miles |
| Driving Time from Portland | 5 hours |
| General Route Info | summitpost https://www.summitpost.org/mount-thielsen/150419 mountain forecast https://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Mount-Thielsen/forecasts/2797 |
| Expected Duration | Car to car in one day |
| Relevant Books | Oregon High by Jeff Thomas |
| Relevant Maps | USGS 7 minute series, Mt. Thielsen and Diamond Lake Google map https://goo.gl/maps/xg6vS1k4prQ2 |
| Useful Links | GPS Track GPS Coordinates Map |
