Mountain Climbing

Troop 60 > Activities > Climbing > Mountaineering > Basic Climbs

Mountaineering
Basic Climbs

A Summit is one of the best accomplishments in life - at any age

The Mountains are Inherently Unpredictable and Unforgiving

Warning: Mountain Climbing requires special training and gear and is inherently dangerous.

We have Skilled and Experienced Youth and Adult Climbers in our Troop. If a climb is considered, a good amount of training must be completed prior to a summit attempt and only a select few Scouts and Adults will be able to attend.

If you are considering a Climb, consider taking a climbing course and using a Guide Service for your big adventure.

Do NOT Attempt Mountain Climbing without Properly Training for it or without Experienced Guides!

Mount Baker - Easton Glacier

Grading

The following lists include multiple grading systems.

Technical Scale (1 to 5) (The Mountaineers System)

1-2
- Basic glacier travel with minimal technical climbing or exposure (e.g., roped snow travel).
3
- Moderate alpine scrambling or low-class rock climbing (e.g., 5.0 to 5.4 YDS).
4-5
- Sustained technical rock, steep ice, or mixed terrain
- Requires advanced multi-pitch protection, anchor building, and crevasse rescue skills

Strenuous Scale (1 to 5) (The Mountaineers System)

1-2:
- Light to moderate endurance
- Generally 5–8 hours of movement carrying a standard pack
3-4
- Demanding cardio fitness, requiring the ability to maintain a steady pace (e.g., 800-1,000 vertical feet per hour) for long, multi-hour days
5
- Elite aerobic and strength endurance
- These trips demand high-altitude stamina, sustained steep hill climbing, and the ability to carry heavy packs over 8,000+ feet of total elevation gain

Yosemite Decimal System (YDS)

Yosemite climbing grades refer to the Yosemite Decimal System (YDS), the standard North American system for rating the difficulty of hikes and climbs. It categorizes terrain into five classes, with Class 5 representing technical rock climbing, further broken down into sub-grades based on technical moves and endurance.

The system rates both the technical difficulty of individual moves and the overall commitment level of the route.

Class 5 requires ropes and protective gear. The scale originally topped out at 5.9, but as equipment and climbing standards evolved, it became open-ended and currently extends up to 5.15.

5.0 – 5.4
- Beginner-friendly
- Very large, prominent holds and vertical ladders
5.5 – 5.7
- Intermediate routes
- Requirs deliberate movement and some basic gear placement
5.8 – 5.9
- Advanced routes
- Smaller holds, steep climbing, and technical sequences
5.10a – 5.10d
- Experienced climbers only
- Holds are significantly smaller, and complex technique is mandatory
5.11a – 5.15d
- Expert and elite grades
- Letters from "a" to "d" indicate increasing micro-difficulty within a single number grade

Basic Alpine Climbs

These climbs involve one of the following challenges:

Steep or hard snow
Class 3-4 rock (usually no more than one roped pitch)
Minor or no glacier travel

Anderson/Anderson Glacier
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 1/4
- Hoodsport
Brothers/S Couloir
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 1/2
- Hoodsport
Constance/S Chute
- Days: 2-3
- Technical/Strenuous: 3/4
- Quilcene
Corteo Peak/SW Ridge
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/3
- Marblemount
Curtis Gilbert/Conrad Glacier
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 1/2
- Packwood
Dragontail Colchuck Col
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/2
- Leavenworth
Icy/W Route
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/3
- Glacier

Logan/Fremont Glacier
- Days: 3
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/4
- Marblemount
Monte Cristo/N Col
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/2
- Verlot
North Twin Sister/W Ridge
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 1/2
- Marblemount
Redoubt/S Face
- Days: 3
- Technical/Strenuous: 4/4
- Sedro Woolley
Sahale/S Slope
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 1/3
- Marblemount
Sherpa/S Route
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/4
- Cle Elum
Silverstar/Silverstar Glacier
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/1
- Marblemount

Sloan Peak/Corkscrew Route
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/2
- Darrington
Snowking/NE Shoulder
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 1/4
- Marblemount
Spickard/S Ridge
- Days: 3
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/4
- Sedro Woolley
Stuart/Cascadian Couloir
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/4
- Cle Elum
Unicorn/S Side
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 1/1
- Longmire
Warrior/SE Summit
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/2
- Quilcene
Whitehorse/NW Shoulder
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/3
- Darrington

Basic Rock Climbs

Alpine rock climbs up to 5.4 and three pitches or less. No glacier climbing skills are required.

The Tooth

Cathedral Rock via SW Face
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/1
- YDS: 5.0 to 5.4
- Cle Elum
Chair Peak/NE Buttress
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 3/3
- YDS: Grade II, Class 5.6
- North Bend
Cruiser/SW Corner
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/3
- YDS: 5.0
- Hoodsport
Cutthroat/W Ridge
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/1
- Grade II, Class 5.7
- Marblemount
Fin (N Cascades)/NE Ridge
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/2
- YDS: 5.4
- Marblemount
Foggy Peak/N Ridge
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/2
- YDS: Class 4 (High End Scramble)
- Verlot
Guye Peak/W Face
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/1
- YDS: 5.3
- North Bend
High Priest/N Face
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 5/3
- YDS: 5.5
- Leavenworth

Ingalls, E Peak, SW Face
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/2
- YDS: 5.3
- Cle Elum
Ingalls/S Face
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/2
- YDS: 5.4
- Cle Elum
Ingalls/SW Face
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 1/2
- YDS: 5.3
- Cle Elum
Kangaroo Temple/N Face
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 4/2
- YDS:5.6
- Marblemount
Lundin/W Ridge
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/1
- YDS: Easy 5
- North Bend
Mixup/E Face
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 4/4
- YDS: mid-5th class climbing
- Marblemount
Early Winter/S Arete
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/1
- YDS: Grade II, 5.5 to 5.6
- Marblemount

Sharkfin Tower/E Face
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/3
- YDS: 5.0
- Marblemount
Slippery Slab Tower/NE Face
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/2
- YDS: 5.4
- Skykomish
Temple/W Side
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 3/3
- YDS: 5.6
  - Vertical ladders and fixed ropes
- Leavenworth
Three Fingers/W Route
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 3/3
- YDS: Class 4 scramble
- Verlot
Tooth/S Face
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 3/2
- YDS: 5.4
- North Bend
Witch's Tower/SW Corner
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 1/3
- YDS: 5.5
- Leavenworth
Yellowjacket Tower/E Flank
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 3/1
- YDS: 5.4
- Leavenworth

Basic Glacier Climbs

Alpine glacier climbs on snow and/or ice up to 30 degrees with no rock climbing and minimal to no rock scrambling.

Adams/Mazama Glacier
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 3/3
- Trout Lake
Baker/Boulder Glacier
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 3/3
- Sedro Woolley
Baker/Coleman Glacier
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 3/3
- Glacier
Baker/Easton Glacier
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 3/3
- Sedro Woolley
Clark/Walrus Glacier
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/4
- Wenatchee
Daniel/Lynch Glacier
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/2
- Cle Elum
Dome Peak/Dome Glacier
- Days: 3
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/5
- Darrington
Garibaldi /E Face
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 3/3
- Garibaldi
Glacier Peak /Kennedy Glacier
- Days: 3
- Technical/Strenuous: 3/5
- Darrington

Glacier Peak/Sitkum Glacier
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/4
- Darrington
Glacier Peak/Vista Glacier
- Days: 3
- Technical/Strenuous: 3/5
- Darrington
Hood/Cooper Spur
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 5/2
- ZigZag
Hood/S Side
- Days: 1
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/1
- ZigZag
Jefferson (E)/Whitewater Glacier
- Days: 3
- Technical/Strenuous: 3/3
- Detroit
Little Tahoma/E Shoulder
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 3/3
- White River
Logan/Banded Glacier
- Days: 3
- Technical/Strenuous: 3/5
- Marblemount
Olympus/Blue Glacier
- Days: 3-4
- Technical/Strenuous: 3/4
- Hoh
Rainier/Emmons Glacier
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 5/5
- White River

Rainier/DC
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 5/5
- Paradise
Ruth-Icy/Traverse
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/3
- Glacier
Shuksan/Fisher Chimneys
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 4/4
- Glacier
Sahale/Quien Sabe Glacier
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/3
- Marblemount
Shuksan/Sulphide Glacier
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/3
- Glacier
Snowfield Peak/Neve Glacier
- Days: 2
- Technical/Strenuous: 2/3
- Marblemount
Tom/White Glacier
- Days: 3
- Technical/Strenuous: 3/5
- Hoh
Wedge/W Ridge
- Days: 3
- Technical/Strenuous: 1/3
- Garibaldi

Resources

Fred Beckey’s Cascade Alpine Guide
Kevin McLane's Canadian Rock: Select Climbs of the West
Jim Nelson and Peter Potterfield's Selected Climbs in the Cascades
Alan Kearney’s Classic Climbs in the Northwest
Mountaineers 2010 Basic Climbs Guide

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse