Glacier Mountaineering Society

Wed, Aug 19 2026 - Elephant Peak (7938'), Cabinet Mtns Wilderness (View Original Event Details)

Coordinator(s):		Brian Sugden
Participants:		Brian Sugden, Joann Schmidt, Fred K, Joe Schmidt, Jason Wilkes, Dupea

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Write Up:
Our six-person GMS team successfully summited Elephant Peak (7938’, Cabinet Mtns Wilderness), perhaps a first for GMS as it does not show up in our event history. The climb started near a Montanore Minerals exploration site in Upper Libby Creek. Due to road and bridge washouts associated with December ’25 flooding, we had to drive an alternate access route to the trail via Miller Creek Road. The first two miles of the climb approach followed an old roadbed and gentle trail along upper Libby Creek, and then we ascended the primary SE drainage below Elephant Peak a short distance before cutting up into the timber to the S/W of this drainage (we cut in right where the drainage starts to canyon- up, at the top of the alluvial fan). We then continued upward through the timber/brush/beargrass until the ridge became more defined, and the climb was on rock/talus the rest of the way. A spectacular escarpment on the east side of Elephant Peak (the elephant ear?) has the metasedimentary geology tilted at nearly 90 degrees, nicely showcasing the stratigraphy as we ascended the nearby ridge. Also, a small remnant glacier exists on the NE side of Elephant Peak, which had a very cool little “ledge lake” at the bottom of the glacier. Our roundtrip distance was 8 miles, with right at 4100 feet of gain. Once we left the approach trail, we gained 3700 feet in just under 2 miles, so a decent effort involved. Class 2(3) is a good call for this climb. Risk of rockfall is low (but not impossible). Helmets are recommended given a fairly high chance of stumbles/falls on tippy talus. From the vehicles, we were 4.5 hrs to the summit, and 3.5 hours back to rigs. A canister at the summit cairn held two registers, the oldest being placed in 1957. The team had a great day, and recommend this climb to other members, and for future GMS coordinated events.

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.