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Basic Glacier Climb - Eldorado Peak/Inspiration Glacier

Difficult to get overnight permits, trail and boulder field are punishing, but upper section is amazing in every way (conditions & views)

Dennis Kiilerich Dennis Kiilerich
July 14, 2024
  • Road suitable for all vehicles
  • One party member picked up camping permit at the Marblemount ranger station the morning before (thank you) and got the last walkup permit
  • Parking area was extremely crowded, especially for a Friday, because Cascade Pass hikers were parking there (gate opened while we were on the trip)
  • Finding river crossing was relatively easy - there is pink flagging and a trail down to the river at which point getting across the minor crossing has a few options, and then a large log across the major crossing. The log has been fairly flattened by travel. There is then a fairly distinct trail that parallels the river upstream and reaches a trailhead sign
  • Trail up to the boulder field (~4000’) is very steep all the way, and rooty in places but easy to follow
  • Boulder field is steep and difficult as advertised, but portions have a decent trail (and in some places, multiple trails). There are also some cairns though some cairns are not on the main path. The majority of GPX tracks on Peakbagger do follow the best way closely, so it is worthwhile stopping and checking that you are still following that collection or even backtrack/traverse to reach it (Download Tracks in Peakbagger app, in ascent list), on both the ascent and descent. It will greatly speed things up.
  • There’s a trickle of water on the trail through the boulder field, but the first significant water source since the trailhead is at 5050’ where several streams and waterfalls begin, all the way up to 5900’
  • Stream crossing above boulder field was not a problem
  • Unavoidable snow begins around 5900’
  • From the ridgetop at 6200’ there is a distinct trail down the other side in a steep gully with 1-2 class 3 moves at the bottom. Though the ridgetop is mostly snow free at this point, the Roush basin is all snow, with slabs melted out here and there. Transition from gully to snow on this side was not a problem. Note that there is an attractive slab/ramp farther south on the ridge but we found it too polished and just too steep to safely descend or ascend, so took the gully both ways, which was fine.
  • Snow was in good condition with very minimal postholing and firm (maximum ankle foot penetration, and no crampons needed at this point)
  • Roped up at the base of Eggplant on the Inspiration Glacier “golf course”. Observed distinct crevasses lower down the fall line far away towards Moraine Lake, but only very thin cracks on the route
  • Camped at 7500’ 9 hours after starting. There are currently only 1-2 dry sites, everything else is on snow or not melted out yet. There is a trickle in the evening climber’s left of the campsite (circling towards the S face of Eldorado), or among the rocks 30-50’ above the camp area. The toilet is below the camp area, below the main rock island (head down towards Moraine Lake)
  • Due to an evening breeze, snow conditions conducive to travel, and proximity to the summit, we started up from camp at 6:00. This turned out fine in terms of snow conditions, both up and down. More than 30-60 minutes earlier may have been colder and may have made travel more difficult.
  • Snow was just firm enough to make crampons useful (and particularly so on the top section of the knife edge which was firmer). Kept crampons on until returning to camp.
  • Travel from camp to base of knife edge was uneventful. Crevasses are very few and very small allowing for a very direct ascent. Note that there is a very distinct bootpath that leads to Klawatti instead right out of camp which we followed for a bit by accident (away from the more direct ascent), but this actually made for a nice switchback instead of going straight up from camp.
  • When approaching the knife edge, we aimed for the low point climber’s right which put us in the nice bowl below it. Knife edge has a distinct boot track and easy travel all the way, though the last section (past the true summit to the rocky area beyond it) was firmer, with a breakable crust and less distinct footprints. Used 5 pickets due to significant exposure/consequence (though team arrest should have been possible). In hindsight, dropping coils before starting the knife edge and using the full 40m rope would have allowed for either fewer pickets or more pickets on the rope at the same time. Would recommend reviewing passing pickets with the team prior to ascending the knife edge.
  • Single-day climbers appeared shortly after our descent from the knife edge, so we did not have any crowding on the knife edge. Would recommend coordinating with any prospective other groups since passing teams in opposite directions on the knife edge is possible but would be a hassle.
  • Just under 2 hours from camp to summit (approx 30 minutes to ascend knife edge) and about 1 hour to descend from summit to camp.
  • Approximately 5 hours to descend from camp to trailhead. Upon reaching the boulder field, the descent is mentally tiring until the trailhead since there is rarely enough trail to provide any ‘flow’. No concerns of river running higher later in the day since the logs are fairly high up.
  • Note that while bear canisters or bags are not required at the high camp, the rangers very strongly recommend one or the other for all kinds of animals (marmots, wolverines, goats, bears) - we brought and used two Ursacks.