Unpublished Routes - The Modern Classics?

You can't fake the thrill of alpine exploration.

Jens Holsten FAing on Gorillas in the Mist, Mt. Stuart


The mountains between Seattle, Spokane, and Vancouver have seen prodigious activity in the last few years, and many of the new routes are amazing. The question is: will anyone climb them, or will they fade into obscurity?

Here's a listing of new routes, with links to more info. These are all un-published (or "under-published") but many would be amazing climbs if you're looking for greater challenges or if you have done all the guidebook climbs that perk your interest. If or when some of these routes get traffic, they could become the modern classics of the range, and some of the hardest or best alpine climbs in the contiguous US! Let me know which ones I forgot and I'll add them in. There are definitely many on this list that I can't wait to try.

Presence of stars is totally subjective. I rated only the routes I had done. Absence of any stars means I have not done the climb. ***=World Class, **= Great, put it on the list! *=OK

BC, The Picket Ranges, and Cascades North of Hwy 20

Blake Herrington FAing on Castle Peak's Herrington/Hirst

Les Cornes - Springbok Arete, Sprung Cocks Erect, Voodoo Child ***

Serendipity Peak - Back of Beyond Buttress III 5.10b

Rexford's False Summit - South Pillar III 5.11

Castle Peak - Herrington/Hirst (middle buttress of North Face) IV 5.10d**
Castle Peak - Sod-On-Me III+ 5.10

Ampitheater Mountain North Face - Pilgrimage to Mecca II+ 5.9 **
Ampitheater Mountain North Face - Unauthorized Squirrel II+ 5.10a *
Ampitheater Mountain N. Face - Middle Finger Buttress Left II+ .10c**
Macabre Peak - South (South) Buttress III 5.11a

Mt. Shuksan - NW Arayete III 5.9 **

Green Creek Wall (E. Ridge of South Twin Sister) - The Mythic Wall III 5.10a**
Green Creek Wall - Green Creek Arete II 5.6
Green Creek Wall - Evil Twin Arete III 5.9*

Mt. Fury's West Summit - Mongo Ridge VI 5.10

Specter Peak - The Haunted Wall IV 5.9

Middle Challenger - South Ridge III 5.7
West Challenger - East Ridge III 5.9
Poltergeist Pinnacle (sub -peak of Challenger) - East Face III 5.9 R/X

SE Mox (Lemolo Peak) - NE Buttress / After Hours V 5.10-
SE Mox's East Face - Devil's Club V+ 5.9 A2

The Blob - Plan 9 III or IV 5.10

East McMillan Spire - Come over to the Dark Side (NE Buttress) V 5.10-

Mt. Triumph - SW Rib III 5.8

Southern Pickets Traverse - VI 5.10+
Northern Pickets Traverse - VI 5.7 - Alternate Link



Washington Pass Area

David Trippett belays new terrain on The Silver Horn Spire Playin not Sprayin

Tower Mountain - SE Ridge III 5.10b **

Cutthroat Peak - Community Service Project 5.8 x

Hinkhouse Peak - NW Ridge III 5.8*

Billygoat Buttress of Pk. 6,978' (South of Cutthroat Lake Trailhead) - Perfect Crime III 5.9*
Billygoat Buttress - Easy Getaway III 5.10a**

The Snout - Deviated SeptumII 5.10b*
The Snout - Smelling Salts II 5.10d **

The M&M Wall - Supercave IV 5.11

Vasiliki Ridge - Carlo Rossi Memorial Tower III 5.10d x

Pernod Spire - Indirect West Face III 5.10

Pernod Spire - Direct West Face III 5.10+

Burgundy Spire - Action Potential (East Face) III 5.10

Burgundy Spire - Ultramega OK (East Face) III 5.10c AO

Silver Star sub-summit (Whine Spire) - Gato Negro IV 5.10b**
Silver Star - Stellar Eclipse III+ 5.11a

Silver Horn (Spire on E. Ridge of Silver Star) - The Chalice III 5.10a**
Silver Horn - Playin not Sprayin III 5.10c**

Varden Creek Spire (On E. Ridge of Silver Star) - North Arete III 5.9 - Alternate Link

Le Petit Cheval - Spontaneity Arete II+ 5.7*
Le Petit Cheval - Paul Revere II+ 5.9+


Big Kangaroo - Kearney/Thomas Free Ascent - III 5.11a

Concord Tower - West Face II 5.9*

South Early Winter Spire - Mojo Rising III 5.11 A1
South Early Winter Spire - The Passenger IV- 5.11c/d***
South Early Winter Spire - Cascade Mall (Whindham/Cotman Bolted Route)
South Early Winter Spire - The Hitchhiker IV 5.11b or 5.10d A1 - Description - Route Photo

North Early Winter Spire - Pangaea - ?? 5.12a - Forrest Murphy and Doug Ingersoll



The Middle North Cascades

Gordy Skoog in his element, on the first climb of Mt. Buckner's Southeast Ridge

Mt. Logan - NW Ridge V 5.8

Johannesburg Mountain - CK Route IV 5.10b AI3

Mt. Goode - Megalodon Ridge IV+ 5.10b**

Mt. Buckner - Complete SE Ridge IV 5.8*

Distal Phalanx (Mantis Peak) - North Arete IV 5.10 AO

Mt. Formidable - Direct NE Buttress III+ 5.9
Mt. Formidable - East Ridge IV 5.7
Mt. Formidable - NE Face Direct III+ 5.6

Repulse Peak - North Face (No link, reported as a good adventure, not too hard or scary)

Dome Peak's SW Summit - SE Face 'Gran Torino' IV 5.9

Tupshin Peak - East Ridge III+ 5.7*

Bonanza Peak - NW Ridge via Dark Peak V 5.8**
Bonanza Peak - Three Summits Traverse V 5.8

Star Peak (Sawtooth Wilderness Area) - NW Ridge III 5.7

Courtney Peak - North Face III 5.10

Sloan Peak - Fire on the Mountain (SW Face) III+ 5.10**
Sloan Peak - SE Ridge II+ 5.10a

Roan Wall - Center Stage III 5.11a*** - Link to approach detail, map, and Topo
Roan Wall - Stage Right III 5.10b

Salish Peak - Flight of the Falcon III 5.10c (5.9 AO)**

Tang Tower - Brush Humper's Delight III 5.10a
Tang Tower - Sine Your Pitty III 5.8+

Big Four Tower - Direct North Face IV 5.10a

The Gunsight Group


Dan Hilden on the East Face of Gunsight


All Four Summits - Complete North->South Traverse 'Gunrunner' IV 5.10**

North Gunsight - West Face Free III 5.11+***

Middle Gunsight - East Face III 5.10d***

South Gunsight - East Face 'Accidental Discharge' II 5.10*
South Gunsight - South Ridge II 5.8**
South Gunsight - West Face III 5.9

Index Upper Town Wall
Alpine, no. World-Class and unpublished? Definitely.






Heaven's Gate III- 5.11b***

Wildest Dreams III 5.12b

Golden Road III 5.11d***

The Enchantments

Sol Wertkin belays Jens Holsten FFA of Dragons of Eden - Dragontail

Mount Stuart - Gorillas in the Mist IV+ 5.11a***

Sherpa Peak - Rilikpa III 5.7

D'artanian Spire (Temple Ridge Area) - South Face III 5.10+ C1

Colchuck Balanced Rock - The Tempest Wall IV 5.9 C2 or ~5.12c***
Colchuck Balanced Rock - The Scoop III 5.11c**

Enchantment Peak - Acid Baby III 5.10d**

Prusik Peak - Der Sportsman III 5.11c/d***
Prusik Peak - Solid Gold II+ 5.10d**
Prusik Peak - Prayer for a Friend III 5.12- C1

Dragontail Peak - Dragons of Eden IV+ 5.12a (5.10 Ao)**
Dragontail Peak - 20-Sided Dihedral IV 5.10 Ao (This begins just right of 'Dragons of Eden' and crosses left @ ~P3, meeting the NE Buttress 60' to the left of DOE.)
Dragontail Peak - Dragon Scar IV 5.11a R
Dragontail Peak - Der Dihedral IV 5.10b

Boola Boola Buttress - Black Velvet III 5.10c


Winter or Spring Ice and Snow Routes

Colin Haley on Chiwawa's Intravenous route

Snoqualmie Peak - Pineapple Express IV WI3+ M6 5.8

Mt. Outram - Ghost Passenger III WI3

Mt. Brice - Graveyard Shift IV AI3

Twin Needles - Thread of Ice III - Snow

Chiwawa Mountain - Intravenous IV WI4 M6

Silver Star Mountain - West Face Central Couloir III AI2 M4

Pyramid Mountain - NW Face 'It Aint Over Mother Fuckers' IV M4

Summit Chief - Alpine Chicken IV AI4+ 5.8 R
Summit Chief - North Face III AI3

Three Fingers - NE Face IV WI4+ M3

Mt. Stuart - Lara Kellog Memorial Route IV WI6 AO

Hall Peak - NW Face III 5.6 WI3

White Chuck - East Face Couloir WI3 5.8 R

Abiel Peak - Spindrift Daze III AI3+
Abiel Peak - It's Al-Der III AI4
Abiel Peak - North Face Direct III WI4

Snow Creek Wall - Swing and a Prayer IV WI5 M6 R

Lake 22 Headwall - NW Chutes IV AI4
Mt. Index - West Face 'Murphy's Law' V AI3 M4
Nason Ridge - North Face 'Alpine Dropout' III+ WI3

Whitehorse Mountain - East Face III+ AI4