Glacier Mountaineering Society

Sat, Jun 3 2017 - Rocky Mountain Peak (View Original Event Details)

Coordinator(s):		Joe Grabowski
Participants:		Joe Grabowski, Bjorn Beer, Pete Metzmaker, Bob Lorenz, Greg Notess, Mark Pearson, Anne D.

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Write Up:
With the right conditions Rocky Mountain makes for an excellent intro to alpine mountaineering. I follow the snowpack closely during the winter. By late March it became evident that this would be a good year to schedule this climb. What was unknown when scheduling was the weather. It turned out perfect. Sunny, pleasant and not too warm. Within two miles of the trailhead we left the trail just after the second creek ford, just before a wood bridge. We were on snow from leaving the trail, making our way up a narrow gully into the alpine. After cresting the summit ridge we did a 500' easy rock scramble to the summit. We spent one hour enjoying views from GNP south to Scapegoat and across the wilderness to the high peaks of the Swan Range. A seven hour trip. Anne Dellwo, Greg Notess and Mark Pearson came over from Bozeman. Bjorn Beer and Pete Metzmaker came over from the Flathead. Bob Lorenz drove all the way from Billings. Denise and Kazlo provided support and encouragement. On Sunday Anne, Denise, Bob, Mark, Kazlo and I did a short ridge walk out of the Elko campground. A great option for folks that have to make a long drive home for work on Monday or even for tired 60 year old guys. The previous weekend Denise, Kazlo and I did a similar although much longer climb up to Old Baldy. This June and even into July provides a great opportunity to do some snow climbs in northwestern Montana thanks to the abundance of late season snow this past winter. If you are planning your trip to Glacier for July expect more snow than usual and potentially dangerous creek crossings. Plan accordingly and enjoy.

Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Tim Anderson at twamontana@gmail.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.