Glacier Mountaineering Society

Sun, Jun 9 2013 - Running Rabbit Mountain (View Original Event Details)

Coordinator(s):		Larry Hiller
Participants:		Larry Hiller, Tim Anderson, Jane Holland, Paula Ferguson, Laurel R. Vielle, Carly Hohf, Bobbie Gilmore, Denis Twohig, Randy Phillips, Sue Shannon, Paul Cogswell

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Write Up:
Having reached the Running Rabbit summit thirteen years ago with a Bud Iszler-led group, my recollection of the route was vague at best. To refresh the memory, a midweek pre- climb was planned with Don Arthur, Brian Kennedy, and Linda Soper. Shortly after starting out, a mishap involving scaling the chainlink fence at the Goat Lick ravine resulted in the abrupt termination of the outing and a quick trip to Urgent Care in Whitefish for stitches in my right hand. Although no route information was gained on the failed pre-climb attempt, one major benefit was learning that scaling the fence was not only a bad idea but entirely unnecessary. Just a short distance farther up from the mishap site, Brian and Linda located a fence passageway designed to block critters but allow human access.

On a sunny Sunday, after meeting at the Goat Lick parking lot, our group of eleven walked up the road a short distance to the west side of the bridge to begin the climb. After shepherding the group through the fence, we ascended the wide ridgeline located to the west of the ravine. The route entailed a steady climb through patches of forest, brushy thickets, and grassy slopes. The challenge was keeping the bushwhacking to a minimum, using game trails whenever possible.

Our initial destination, point 7434, was a substantial pull, entailing a vertical gain of 3500 feet in 1.5 miles. Although the unnamed summit appeared from below to be guarded by a cliff band, it was easily accessible via Class 3 terrain and well-worth the visit. The point looms over the Ole Creek drainage and offers unobstructed views towards St. Nick and the peaks of the northern Great Bear Wilderness. From there the mile long ridge walk to the rounded-over, snow-covered, Running Rabbit summit was easy going. The calm summit invited lingering, offering tremendous long distance views down the Front, the Swan and every other direction. Wow, what a day!

We had a very sociable and compatible group which always makes a coordinator’s task much easier. Thanks to Tim and Paula for the GPS navigation which made the return trip a breeze to navigate.

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.