Glacier Peak

Most remote -- and least well-known -- of the 5 major volcanoes in the Cascades of Washington
Surrounded by the Glacier Peak Wilderness; requires at least a 10 mile hike in to the usual base camps
All routes require glacier travel; currently the most popular route is the south side via Gerdine and Cool Glaciers with 8900 ft of vert gain.
Summit affords one of the most classic views of Washington's mountains due to its towering position deep in the Cascades

Routes

White Chuck / Gerdine / Cool Glaciers

7 summits • 15.5 mi • 5,597 ft gain • 12 hr 21 min

Disappointment Peak

3 summits • 36.0 mi • 9,886 ft gain • 24 hr 5 min

Glacier Peak 34.0 mi route

2 summits • 34.0 mi • 9,470 ft gain • 16 hr 5 min

Glacier Peak 32.5 mi route

1 summit • 32.5 mi • 9,402 ft gain • 14 hr 23 min

Glacier Peak 33.0 mi route

1 summit • 33.0 mi • 9,216 ft gain • 12 hr 14 min

Glacier Peak 5.0 mi route (1-way)

1 summit • 5.0 mi • 3,990 ft gain • 4 hr 9 min

Latest summits

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"Wish this mountain was closer to a trailhead! 14.5 miles to get to the camp. 5 miles the next morning to get to the top. Glacier was mostly in good shape, some crevasses opening but easily navigable. The final scree slope up the summit was a long slog but route finding was straightforward. Glad this one is over!" — oregon-mt-goat • Jul 22, 2023

"Conditions weren’t good for an attempt. Crevasses pretty wide and all the snow bridges were collapsed. Only one team that I talked to made the summit. Just a good scouting trip for next years push." — oregon-mt-goat • Sep 3, 2022

"Maybe the most adventurous of Washington's volcanoes. Took the Disappointment Cleaver Route to the summit, around the west side of Disappointment Peak (Class 2+ with some exposure), then up the hogsback and the final chute of steep snow to the summit. Overall rating 10/10, a quiet and beautiful mountain in the heart of an already beautiful wilderness" — MountainQuest • Aug 26, 2022

"4th C2C of the mountain. Really pushed on this one, taking advantage of snow conditions. Amazing way to experience the mountain but I think for my 5th climb I will be doing a two dayer. 12:14 C2C" — stukesowle • Jul 8, 2018

" 0ther than being hot, perfect weather. Peak of wildflowers and alpine meadows. Summiters included a dog using claws for crampons, and a cyclist from Mongolia. First night at shelter in old growth forest. Second night at Glacier Gap. After summit, night at White Pass. Out the next day." — bobcarson • Jul 29, 2017

"Broke camp at 3:45 AM, leaving from the first campsite one reaches after dropping over the ridge from White Pass. Despite some good beta on the route out of the White Chuck basin, we had some minor route finding issues in the dark. We thought we had circled the base of the glacier when we really we had started up a rock island that is passed on both sides by fingers of the glacier. We backtracked without adding too much time. The photo I’ve attached might help others. The route out of the basin spits you out with the option of either crossing a permanent snowfield (glacier) or dropping some elevation and crossing the basin that separates you from Glacier Gap. With firm dawn ice, we decided to put on crampons and cross the snow, rather than lose the elevation. After reaching the Gap, we started up the south ridge, hopping onto the snow for easy walking at the earliest opportunity. Many groups in the previous days had not roped up, but with a fairly inexperienced group of six we decided to go ahead and practice our roped travel (two teams). We crossed the Gerdine Glacier w/o incident, skirting a large area of rock fall. Some small crevasses were clearly visible. The ice was ..." — TynanRammGranberg • Aug 9, 2015