McDonald Peak (on the left) from the northwest.



The peak to the right is unnamed Peak 9417 on the USGS map, and is locally known as either The Sheep's Head or West McDonald Peak.

The small bump between the two is the point labeled as West McDonald by the USGS.

Approaches from this west side of the mountain include:

1) Climbing from McDonald Lake, which sits at the base of the peaks in the drainage shown in this photo to the base of the north face of Peak 9417,then traversing below the face to the small glacier and from there to the summit (my 1963 route – not highly recommended).

2) Ascending the west ridge of Peak 9417 (a very nice climb even if not going on to McDonald) and descending its east ridge to gain McDonald's west side.

3) Ascending to the vicinity of the USGS West McDonald directly from the Ashley Lake drainage, which is the next to the south in this photo.

Photo late summer by Fred Spicker