Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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46.75800°N / 121.742°W |
Route Type:
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Mountaineering, Skiing |
Season:
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Spring |
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Time Required:
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Most of a day |
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Difficulty:
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WI2+ / WI3 |
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Number of Pitches:
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1 |
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Grade:
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III |
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Overview
The North Face of Denman Peak is an easy and fun route mixing Ice and steep snow. There is one pitch of technical ice followed by 800 feet of steep snow at about 50/ 55 degrees. From the summit, you get stunning view on Mt Rainier and the rest of the Tatoosh range including Pinnacle Peak and Lane Peak. The short approach makes it an enjoyable route with various challenges and great views.
On top of the gully
Note : the technical ice part is probably avoidable.
Getting There
Park at Narada falls parking lot and hike up the steep open slope to gain stevens canyon road. From the road you should be able to see the peak. When the road turns sharply left, hike inside the woods towards the peak, following the slope downhill. Once you reached the bottom of the valley, manage to cross the creek and head to the base of the mountain, staying left of the mountain. You should be able to see an obvious gully going up.Route Description
Start hiking up the gully. From this point you should be able to see the small ice fall (30/40 feet high). Note that you can probably avoid he technical ice part following the gully on the left. Climb up the ice fall. You can easily setup a bomber anchor at the top. Continue going up and slighty left until you reach the ridge. Once you reach the ridge, follow it on your right towards an easy and rather flat summit. Watch out as the summit cornice can be very large.follow the same route on your way down and avoid getting trapped in the wood as you might end up on top of icy cliffs. If you do that, rappelling is a viable option, but be aware that the hanging ice can be very fragile and eventually fall on you (we witnessed a huge chunk of ice collapsing a few meters away from where we were rappelling).
Most of the route can be done without a rope although simul climbing or running belay make it mentally easier.
Most of the route can be done without a rope although simul climbing or running belay make it mentally easier.
Rewarding views
It can be steep
The ice fall