Glacier Mountaineering Society

Sun, Aug 23 2009 - Iceberg Peak (View Original Event Details)

Coordinator(s):		Stephen Smith
Participants:		Stephen Smith

Write Up:
Regardless of the approach, Iceberg Peak is a long way from any trailhead. This fact did not stop a seasoned group of eight GMS members from meeting at the Iceberg Lake trailhead at 8:30 a.m. for one of the last regularly scheduled outings of 2009. While usually reserved for the route up Ipasha Peak via Iceberg Notch, the "Yo" route designation could also be applied to our planned ascent of Iceberg. Iceberg Notch is one of the most scenic approaches of any climb I have done in the Park. The account of the Notch ascent in the Climber's Guide is quite thorough, but in my opinion makes it sound tougher than it is; after all, once we finally achieved the Notch, we still had a whole mountain to climb! There is a faint goat/climber's trail that extends southward from the Notch which helps orient climbers in the right direction to Iceberg Peak. Our final approach to Iceberg Peak wrapped around its western base before sending us scrambling up the southwest scree slope. The summit allows for a tremendous, exposed view of the entire Park, with many "photo ops" available from gendarmes and exposed ledges that drop thousands of feet to Iceberg Lake. After a summit rest and luncheon, we debated the options for the descent. It was tempting to tackle South Iceberg Peak and skirt Swiftcurrent Mountain before reaching the Swiftcurrent Pass Trail to return to Swiftcurrent Motor Inn. Since most of our group, including the coordinator, had not done that route before, it was decided that Iceberg Notch would be the prudent choice this day, but the wheels were turning for future trip plans. Thanks to Bruce White for serving as backup coordinator on this one. Thanks also to Joe Grabowski and David Koel for going on the pre-climb with me in the fall of 2008. Iceberg Peak climbers were: Bruce White, Rhonda White, Jerry Moore, Michael Barragan, Trevor Helwig, David Koel, Stephen Smith and Ken McDermott.

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.