My wife and I have been hiking the Chugach Mountains the last few years. Pioneer Peak is our highest summit. Could anyone provide any info on the easiest of the top ten Chugach summits. I know that know mountain is easy, my wife has some problems with the descent. Any info would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!! Thank you

You might get more responses if you change your heading from "Church Mountains" to "Chugach Mountains."

The true (north) summit of Pioneer Peak (6398 feet) is not all that easy; it took me two attempts to reach it. The lower south summit is considerably easier than the north summit.

When you ask about the "top ten" summits in the Chugach, are you inquiring about the easiest 10 peaks to ascend or the easiest of the 10 highest peaks to ascend? The Chugach Mountains are a large range and extend from Anchorage east of the Copper River to the Tana River. Many peaks, perhaps most, remain unclimbed, so determining the 10 easiest peaks would be both subjective and based on incomplete data. As for the 10 highest summits in the Chugach Mountains, they are:

1. Mount Marcus Baker, 13176 feet
2. Middle Summit of Mount Marcus Baker, 12850 feet
3. Mount Thor, 12521 feet
4. North Peak of Mount Marcus Baker, 12360 feet
5. Mount Gilbert Lewis, 12250 feet
5. Northeast Buttress of Mount Marcus Baker, 12250 feet
7. Peak C-13, 12150 feet
8. Mount Valhalla, 12135 feet
9. Peak 12043 (in the Harvard Glacier and Matanuska Glacier drainages), 12043 feet
10. Mount Witherspoon, 12012 feet.

Some of these are unclimbed and all require glacier travel.

According to one book I have, the easiest of the "major" peaks is Yukla Peak (7535) but it still requires experience.

On Steve's list of the 10 highest, the easiest are apparently Thor and Valhalla, but they are still serious climbs, especially considering the atrocious weather that plagues that region.

What book is that? Just curious as to the other peaks considered and what constitutes a "major" peak.

Steve Gruhn wrote:What book is that? Just curious as to the other peaks considered and what constitutes a "major" peak.

I'm away from home for the next several weeks, but I can check the book when I get home.