Something that looks possible on the map is taking the trail from Logan Pass to Hidden Lake and then following the creek from the lake down to Avalanche Creek. Anyone ever tried this?

Never done, but I have hiked past Hidden Lake to Floral Park Pass and marveled at Avalanche Lake sitting at the base of a large cirque 2000+ feet below. I didn't get a chance to explore the area at all, as we got a late start from Logan Pass en route to Sperry Glacier Basin and ultimately Lake McDonald, but I do recall seeing some steep, loose gullies that appeared to be of the class III-IV variety heading down towards Avalanche Lake. Not sure if any of them are safely passable. I would not be surprised at all if you were able to find some kind of route down towards the lake from there.

If you are interested, check out the Floral Park route page for information on the cross-country hike from Logan Pass to Lake McDonald. This is unquestionably one fo the best routes in the entire park, and allows you to cross three mountain passes and Sperry Glacier Basin over the course of a very long, incredibly scenic and interesting day.

A few of my friends tried climbing the Little Matterhorn from Avalanche Basin. They had difficulty describing the route to me, but it apparently ended a ways beneath the summit on some scary, crumbly ledges.

distressbark wrote:A few of my friends tried climbing the Little Matterhorn from Avalanche Basin. They had difficulty describing the route to me, but it apparently ended a ways beneath the summit on some scary, crumbly ledges.

You might be interested in this quote, from the Edwards' "Climber's Guide":

Ted Steiner and Kenny Kasselder climbed from Avalanche Lake directly to the summit of the Little Matterhorn. They described their first ascent as a grueling technical ascent involving seven very intense pitches. They had difficulty finding safe rappel routes on the descent, and reached Avalanche Lake after sixteen hours on the face.

From Avalanche Lake, most definitely not an easy mountain!!!

Thanks for the Info. And for the tip about that Logan pass to Lake MacDonald route.

saintgrizzly wrote:

distressbark wrote:A few of my friends tried climbing the Little Matterhorn from Avalanche Basin. They had difficulty describing the route to me, but it apparently ended a ways beneath the summit on some scary, crumbly ledges.

You might be interested in this quote, from the Edwards' "Climber's Guide":

Ted Steiner and Kenny Kasselder climbed from Avalanche Lake directly to the summit of the Little Matterhorn. They described their first ascent as a grueling technical ascent involving seven very intense pitches. They had difficulty finding safe rappel routes on the descent, and reached Avalanche Lake after sixteen hours on the face.

From Avalanche Lake, most definitely not an easy mountain!!!

Now that you mention it, I definitely remember coming across this information in the Climber's Guide. I thought they were a little nuts to even give it a try. I guess they made it high enough to have an amazing view of Avalanche Lake, but I'm glad they decided to turn around and head back!

I think another point worth mentioning here is that if this were to be attempted the attempt would be better done climbing up from Avalanche Basin rather than down from Hidden Lake. Route finding could be problematic when down climbing.

It would be a lot more work to climb up but in the end isn't climbing about safety first?

Your post got me thinking about that route so I scouted it out a bit today while on the trail to Avalanche Lake. The creek from Hidden Lake is flowing pretty good right now and there is a lot of down fall near the confluence of Hidden Lake Creek and Avalanche Creek.

It looks lke there is an elevation difference of about 2700 feet from the outlet of Hidden Lake to Avalanche Creek. The slopes on the Cannon Mountain side of the stream are more open and looks like a pretty serious bushwack all the way up.

Good luck with that if you decide to do it. I believe that this is the way the civilian conservation corp brought power to Logan Pass Visitors Center so obviously there is a way up there.

I have posted some photos as well.

http://www.summitpost.org/view_object.php?object_id=620619&context_id=598273


http://www.summitpost.org/view_object.php?object_id=620620&context_id=598273

Thanks for the heads up, Flathead Native. I was looking for a boulder strewn ascent of a roaring creek, not a bushwack. It still looks great on the map, but thanks to you I am wiser and will pass! I have a fear of both brush and bears.

Like I said it looks like it can and has been done. It is also difficult to say what it would be further up the creek. Perhaps someone will explore this route someday.

I found another photo of the outlet of Hidden Lake. This is taken from the false summit of Bearhat Mountain.

This picture is worth a 1000 words - many thanks Flathead Native. Now I am somewhat interested again...