North Ridge of Kulshan
The North Ridge of Kulshan is an iconic technical mountaineering route defined by consistently steep pitches of snow climbing, a few moderate pitches of ice on the serac headwall and great exposure above broken glaciated terrain. This route should be on every alpinist's tick list! A big day moving through complex terrain, the North Ridge is as close to climbing in Alaska as you can get in the Lower 48.
North Ridge 3-day itinerary
-
The Heliotrope Ridge trail follows a well maintained path through the dense rainforest. We'll establish camp at the Hogsback Camp at 5,800ft. We may also spend a few hours in the afternoon doing reconnaissance of the approach across the broken Coleman Glacier.
Distance: 3.5 miles
Elevation gain: 2,300 feet
Total time: 3-4 hours -
The climb begins by traversing the heavily crevassed lower Coleman Glacier. Once at the toe of the North Ridge climbers will put their calf endurance and alpine efficiency to the test with sustained steep snow climbing. The serac headwall guards the upper half of the route where we climb a few pitches of alpine ice. A final section of steep crevasses must be climbed to reach the summit. From the summit, we descend the standard Coleman-Deming route navigating mostly moderate snow slopes back to camp.
Distance: 3.25 miles
Elevation gain: 4,900 feet
Total time: 8-9 hours to the summit -
Our standard North Ridge itinerary is a 3-day program with this final day reserved for hiking out and as a contingency day due to inclement weather. We have found most climbers enjoy the relaxation time in the mountains and don't want to stress about hiking out after a long summit day. Contact us to discuss a 2-day itinerary based on your abilities/preferences.
