Route Climbed: North Ridge - Direct Finish Date Climbed: October 4, 2003
Last time I climbed this I eyed an alternate finish from the North Ridge that looked interesting. After climbing the 8 foot crack, the standard finish is to traverse south around the rock ridge and back to the summit. But, this time I decided to try to continue directly up the NorthWest Ridge all the way to the summit.
This variation is listed as route 26A in Jeff Thomas' Oregon High. It's about 50 feet of 5.4 climbing on pretty solid (at least compared to the rest of the mountsin) rock. The northwest ridge peters out into a 6 foot wide rock fin after the first crack and this is where the standard route begins traversing to the south. Instead, we roped up and climbed straight up the rock fin directly to the summit. The climbing is quite nice with great exposure off both sides of the fin. It protects OK and the rock is generally sound.
Although the climbing is only 1 short pitch, it's more interesting than the standard traverse. I recommend it to anyone looking for a slightly more adventurous option.
Route Climbed: Northwest Ridge Date Climbed: August 31, 2003
See Cornvallis's entry below. I found the crux crack less exposed than I expected. We brought a rope for rappelling, but didn't use it. There seem to be two easier alternatives for downclimbing. One is slightly to the east of the NW corner and the other is 20 ft south. The second one was marked with a cairn when we were there. The rock is a little looser than that in the crack, but easy to downclimb facing out with less exposure. Views from Broken Top can't be beat. I'm definitely going back when the visibility is better.
Route Climbed: NW Ridge via Green Lakes TH Date Climbed: August 31, 2003
Joined up with dkantola again for this one. Left the trailhead at 5:30 AM and were the first ones to the summit by a little after 9 AM. Enjoyed the warm and windless summit for over an hour, at least half of that time to ourselves. Best views of the Sister's you'll find. Air was very smoky from the nearby fires, eventually limited our view to just the Sister's and Bachelor. Down climb was easy....I think we found the "nice semi-chimney" that Brian Jenkins refers to, it is about 15-20 ft. to the south of the nice crack you should climb up. As we headed down the trail from the Green Lakes area we passed what must of been nearly 100 people, mostly all day hikers. Very popular area, rightfully so, it is beautiful!
NOTE: If you decide to take the easy way down the huge scree slopes of the west face be careful of rock fall caused by others. Watched some large rocks with heat seeking ability target three quick acting guys on two separate occasions.
Route Climbed: SW Ridge Date Climbed: August 16, 2003
Amazing day. No crowds, perfect weather, and a whole lot of scree. Spent the night at the trailhead at the end of Road 380, got a late start, but made the summit in 2 hrs. After a 2 hr. summit nap, ran down the scree and where in Bend for happy hour.
Route Climbed: Northwest Ridge Date Climbed: August 15, 2003
I solo climbed this leaving the trailhead at 4:00 am and summited a little after 9:00. great view, it was the first time i have been able to see all the way from hood to mcloughlin. I free climbed up a crack on the east edge of the summit block that was a little scary, but was pretty fun. falling would definitely have sucked since there would be absolutely no chance of breaking a fall and it is a looong steep rocky way down. saw about 12 people coming up as i was descending from the saddle.
Route Climbed: Green Lakes variation Date Climbed: June 9, 2003
sunny, perfect day, perfect glissading snow!
Our group of 6 left around 6am, ascended the snowfield on the West Slope, and climbed around precarious rocky pinnacles but we were on the wrong side to acheive the true summit. That's for another day. Glissade down was phenomenol, sunburn was minimal, views couldn't be beat!
Route Climbed: NW Ridge (via Green Lks. TH) Date Climbed: 10/19/02
My wife and I climbed this peak in perfect weather last Saturday. For a while fast-moving clouds appeared as we were approachig the summit but they dissipated equally fast. The peak had two personal records for us: 1. the worst 'rock' we've encountered to date and 2. the longest summit stay - 2.5 hrs. of chillin' in perfect weather with a beautiful view stretching from Hood to Thielsen (McLaughlin perhaps?). Brought a 9mm rope (for rappeling) but it was totally unnecessary as the route (if you find the correct one) is easily downclimbable.
Route Climbed: Northwest Ridge Date Climbed: August 3, 2002
We did this hike from Green Lakes camping area as a warm up for South Sister the following day. Nothing great until you gain the ridge but after that, the climbing is more exciting and there is a slight feeling of exposure. The final section is a bit airy with a few easy moves and a skirt across an exposed ledge to the summit. Views from the top into the guts of the old volcano are great.
Route Climbed: West Ridge Date Climbed: August 4 2001
Broken Top, as the name implies, is an old shattered, crumbly mountain. Looking at it from the south, you will notice that the entire southern side has fallen, leaving a 2000 ft -near vertical- scree slope. It is this exposure you will be facing as you make your way up the final ledges to the summit. On the day we were there, we were essentially looking down into the cloud.
Route Climbed: Northwest Ridge Date Climbed: August 4, 2001
We got an early start at 0600. After a few miles we reached the beautiful Green Lakes area where we could see the saddle that we would be shooting for to gain the Northwest ridge. After about 1/2 hour of moving through dense woods we passed into a much clearer area where the saddle was only a little further away. From here it got pretty steep climbing across scree and loose dirt. After we gained the ridge we marked our entry point to help with the decent because a weather system had started to move in. We continued up the ridge until we came to the only Glacier on the mountain(very very small). We skirted past it and came to the bulge on the ridge just short of the summit. I lead the small pitch and set up a fixed line that our group prussiked up. Meanwhile visibility had about went down to zero. Within a few short minutes and a precarious walk across an exposed knife ridge we were on the summit.
cluck - Oct 6, 2003 2:56 pm
Route Climbed: North Ridge - Direct Finish Date Climbed: October 4, 2003Last time I climbed this I eyed an alternate finish from the North Ridge that looked interesting. After climbing the 8 foot crack, the standard finish is to traverse south around the rock ridge and back to the summit. But, this time I decided to try to continue directly up the NorthWest Ridge all the way to the summit.
This variation is listed as route 26A in Jeff Thomas' Oregon High. It's about 50 feet of 5.4 climbing on pretty solid (at least compared to the rest of the mountsin) rock. The northwest ridge peters out into a 6 foot wide rock fin after the first crack and this is where the standard route begins traversing to the south. Instead, we roped up and climbed straight up the rock fin directly to the summit. The climbing is quite nice with great exposure off both sides of the fin. It protects OK and the rock is generally sound.
Although the climbing is only 1 short pitch, it's more interesting than the standard traverse. I recommend it to anyone looking for a slightly more adventurous option.
dkantola - Sep 1, 2003 9:31 am
Route Climbed: Northwest Ridge Date Climbed: August 31, 2003See Cornvallis's entry below. I found the crux crack less exposed than I expected. We brought a rope for rappelling, but didn't use it. There seem to be two easier alternatives for downclimbing. One is slightly to the east of the NW corner and the other is 20 ft south. The second one was marked with a cairn when we were there. The rock is a little looser than that in the crack, but easy to downclimb facing out with less exposure. Views from Broken Top can't be beat. I'm definitely going back when the visibility is better.
Cornvallis - Sep 1, 2003 1:13 am
Route Climbed: NW Ridge via Green Lakes TH Date Climbed: August 31, 2003Joined up with dkantola again for this one. Left the trailhead at 5:30 AM and were the first ones to the summit by a little after 9 AM. Enjoyed the warm and windless summit for over an hour, at least half of that time to ourselves. Best views of the Sister's you'll find. Air was very smoky from the nearby fires, eventually limited our view to just the Sister's and Bachelor. Down climb was easy....I think we found the "nice semi-chimney" that Brian Jenkins refers to, it is about 15-20 ft. to the south of the nice crack you should climb up. As we headed down the trail from the Green Lakes area we passed what must of been nearly 100 people, mostly all day hikers. Very popular area, rightfully so, it is beautiful!
NOTE: If you decide to take the easy way down the huge scree slopes of the west face be careful of rock fall caused by others. Watched some large rocks with heat seeking ability target three quick acting guys on two separate occasions.
ClarenceV - Aug 20, 2003 12:16 am
Route Climbed: Northwest Ridge Date Climbed: August 15, 2003We left Green Lakes at 10AM. Three of us reached the
summit about 1PM. Awesome views straight down
into the crater. No wind, beautiful warm sun. Deathly
exposure if you should slip! Scree-skiied down West
slope. I also climbed Broken Top in Aug 1986.
jhalz - Aug 19, 2003 9:11 am
Route Climbed: SW Ridge Date Climbed: August 16, 2003Amazing day. No crowds, perfect weather, and a whole lot of scree. Spent the night at the trailhead at the end of Road 380, got a late start, but made the summit in 2 hrs. After a 2 hr. summit nap, ran down the scree and where in Bend for happy hour.
cmc56789 - Aug 15, 2003 11:17 pm
Route Climbed: Northwest Ridge Date Climbed: August 15, 2003I solo climbed this leaving the trailhead at 4:00 am and summited a little after 9:00. great view, it was the first time i have been able to see all the way from hood to mcloughlin. I free climbed up a crack on the east edge of the summit block that was a little scary, but was pretty fun. falling would definitely have sucked since there would be absolutely no chance of breaking a fall and it is a looong steep rocky way down. saw about 12 people coming up as i was descending from the saddle.
climberkristin - Jun 9, 2003 1:30 pm
Route Climbed: Green Lakes variation Date Climbed: June 9, 2003sunny, perfect day, perfect glissading snow!
Our group of 6 left around 6am, ascended the snowfield on the West Slope, and climbed around precarious rocky pinnacles but we were on the wrong side to acheive the true summit. That's for another day. Glissade down was phenomenol, sunburn was minimal, views couldn't be beat!
zzril - Nov 22, 2002 12:40 pm
Route Climbed: NW Ridge Date Climbed: August 1995One day solo of my first Cascade volcano. Gorgeous views from Mt. Adams in Washington to Mt. Shasta in California and every volcano in between.
rpc - Oct 21, 2002 9:16 am
Route Climbed: NW Ridge (via Green Lks. TH) Date Climbed: 10/19/02My wife and I climbed this peak in perfect weather last Saturday. For a while fast-moving clouds appeared as we were approachig the summit but they dissipated equally fast. The peak had two personal records for us: 1. the worst 'rock' we've encountered to date and 2. the longest summit stay - 2.5 hrs. of chillin' in perfect weather with a beautiful view stretching from Hood to Thielsen (McLaughlin perhaps?). Brought a 9mm rope (for rappeling) but it was totally unnecessary as the route (if you find the correct one) is easily downclimbable.
cluck - Sep 11, 2002 7:34 pm
Route Climbed: Northwest Ridge Date Climbed: August 3, 2002We did this hike from Green Lakes camping area as a warm up for South Sister the following day. Nothing great until you gain the ridge but after that, the climbing is more exciting and there is a slight feeling of exposure. The final section is a bit airy with a few easy moves and a skirt across an exposed ledge to the summit. Views from the top into the guts of the old volcano are great.
Zancudo - Sep 20, 2001 1:01 pm
Route Climbed: West Ridge Date Climbed: August 4 2001Broken Top, as the name implies, is an old shattered, crumbly mountain. Looking at it from the south, you will notice that the entire southern side has fallen, leaving a 2000 ft -near vertical- scree slope. It is this exposure you will be facing as you make your way up the final ledges to the summit. On the day we were there, we were essentially looking down into the cloud.
Hammer - Sep 20, 2001 6:21 am
Route Climbed: Northwest Ridge Date Climbed: August 4, 2001We got an early start at 0600. After a few miles we reached the beautiful Green Lakes area where we could see the saddle that we would be shooting for to gain the Northwest ridge. After about 1/2 hour of moving through dense woods we passed into a much clearer area where the saddle was only a little further away. From here it got pretty steep climbing across scree and loose dirt. After we gained the ridge we marked our entry point to help with the decent because a weather system had started to move in. We continued up the ridge until we came to the only Glacier on the mountain(very very small). We skirted past it and came to the bulge on the ridge just short of the summit. I lead the small pitch and set up a fixed line that our group prussiked up. Meanwhile visibility had about went down to zero. Within a few short minutes and a precarious walk across an exposed knife ridge we were on the summit.