April 20, 2008 The National Park Service is presently updating and generally messing around with the Glacier National Park web site.

Many of the links are changing and while they are working, many of the links do not work properly.

So, many of the links in this page do not work. We are waiting for the NPS to finalize their work before trying to update links.

Until then, try starting here at the webcam page which has been one of the more reliable recently GNP webcam page and try to navigate from there.

Or, try this non-government information site: Glacier National Park Information

The classic view of Mount Wilbur from the east across Swiftcurrent Lake.
Photo by csmcgranahan

From the south.

Overview

From the north.

Viewed from the east, Mount Wilbur appears to be a fantastic freestanding fin of rock. In fact, the mountain has a roughly three-sided pyramid shape with relatively wide north and south faces. A long very jagged west ridge extends behind the impressive east face.

There are five described routes on the east face and one on the north face. I do not know if the south face or the west ridge has been climbed.

First light on East Face.

Mount Wilbur was named in 1885 by G. B. Grinnell , for E. R. Wilbur, one of his partners in the Forest and Stream Publishing Company. Grinnell was one of the pioneers influential in the establishment of Glacier National Park. The mountain was known as "Heavy Shield" by the local Native Americans.

The first ascent of Mount Wilbur was made via the East Face (variation unknown) on 20 August 1923 by Norman Clyde. The first winter ascent was made in late November of 1969 by Jim Anderson, Pat Callis, Jurg Hofer, Mark Levitan, Jim Kanzler, and Cep Pogrebe via the East Face, Thin man and Chimney routes. (CLIMBING MAGAZINE, March-April 1975)

Views from Mount Wilbur

Getting There

Across Swiftcurrent Lake.

Mount Wilbur is located in the Many Glacier area of Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana. Access is through the Many Glacier Entrance on the east side of the Park.

From the northeast.

See maps

Park Map

Many Glacier Area

The road is not maintained for winter travel, but is usually open quite early in the spring.

The road status can be checked at: Park Road Info

Red Tape

National Park Entrance Fees apply in Glacier National Park: Current Park Entrance Fees

A complete set of Rules and Regulations governing Glacier National Park can be accessed on the What's New Page. It is a lengthy PDF file.

Registration for day climbs in Glacier National Park is recommended, but not mandatory.

Routes Overview

GUIDEBOOK: A CLIMBER'S GUIDE TO GLACIER NATIONAL PARK; J. Gordon Edwards

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Because of the nature of the rock, there are special considerations regarding climbing in Glacier National Park, and grading systems unique to the Park have been developed. Please see this Fact Sheet for further details:

GNP Rock & Grading Systems

All the routes described on Mount Wilbur are day climbs involving about 4,500 feet of elevation gain and distance 4 miles, half of this by trail.

East Face

EAST FACE

The East Face routes are accessed via the Red Rock Falls Trail (see Many Glacier Trails Map: Many Glacier Area).

There seems to be very little difference in difficulty between the five routes on the east face. All are class 4 and 5 chimney or gully climbs. Only the Thin Man's Pleasure Route has an outstanding feature separating it from the others.

The Direct Route, North Couloir Route, and Central Couloir Route are approached by entering the cirque at the base of the East Face and climbing more or less directly up the north side of deepest gully on the face (below the deepest notch at the top of the face). Some fairly difficult climbing including one overhang is encountered on this lower part of the face. The three routes diverge at the base of a red rock band where the face steepens.

1) The Direct Route is a chimney climb directly to a notch at the top of the face via the left fork of the main gully. It is described as a straightforward chimney climb with an overhang at the top.

2) The North Couloir Route follows the right fork of the gully and leads via easy class 3 climbing to a more northerly notch at the top of the face. Class 4 climbing is then necessary to traverse to the summit.

3) The Central Couloir Route ascends between the Direct and North Couloir Routes and involves a couple of pitches with dangerously down sloping holds, but is indicated by Edwards to be the easiest of these three routes.

The Chimney Route and the Thin Man's Pleasure Route are approached over the broad shoulder at the left side of the east face.

4) The Chimney Route follows a deep chimney to a ledge that brings one to the notch at the base of the summit block.

5) The Thin Man's Pleasure Route (GMS IV (5) ML) climbs a chimney next to the Chimney Route. At the top is a an overhanging roof with small hole leading through (see photo below). One climbs through the hole then up a shallow gully to gain the same ledge as the Chimney Route.

Climbing on the East Face

Below Thin Man & Chimneys.

The Thin Man Roof.

Crazy
"Jump Move"
(Not mandatory.)

NORTH FACE

The Northwest Face Route is accessed from Iceberg Lake (see Many Glacier Trails map: Many Glacier Area). This is described as an extremely difficult climb involving many overhanging chimney pitches. It was first climbed in 1961 by Tom Choate, Renn Fenton, and Gil Averill and was not known to have been repeated as of 1989.

When To Climb

Fall Snow
Early Morning Light.

Summer season after most of the snow is gone from the East Face.

Mountain Conditions

NPS What's New Page with weather report link and web cams (one showing Mount Wilbur):

Glacier Park, What's New

Iceberg Lake

View down on lake.

The cirque.

Because of the orientation of the cirque and the exceptionally steep walls, the lake remains frozen until well into the summer and normally contains icebergs most of the summer.

The hike to the lake is mostly through fairly open terrain with fabulous views of Mount Wilbur and Pinnacle Wall. It is about 4.7 miles with 1,200 feet of elevation gain from Many Glacier to the lake.

Links:

NPS page - photos from along the trail and of the lake - also a short video

Big Sky Fishing.com - an excellent trail description with many photos (note - there are no fish in Iceberg Lake - it is frozen too much of the year)

Trip Report - a private party trip report with some nice photos

Map of Many Glacier Area

Camping

There are numerous campgrounds available within Glacier National Park:

GNP Campground Status and Information

There are also many campgrounds just outside the Park on both the west and east sides.

Camping on the Blackfeet Reservation is restricted to established campgrounds only.

Accomodations and Campgrounds on the Blackfeet Reservation

External Links

Glacier Mountaineering Society

After Sunset
Photo by csmcgranahan

Images



[ View Gallery - 29 More Images ]