Intermediate Alpine Climb - Bonanza & Martin Peaks

Trip Report

Bonanza Peak is as much about the journey as the climb; driving 4+ hours (for us), a 3+ hour boat ride, the transport bus, and then you can finally go climbing. Along the way there’s some interesting history and interesting people to meet. Others have already written some good TRs so I’ll just add the things I wish I would have known when trip planning. Good luck!

 Our Times:

Sunday:

12:45pm Chelan Lake Boat Company dropped us off at Lucerne, boarded the Holden Village transport bus

1:30pm arrived at Holden Village

1:45pm started hiking

4:00pm reached Holden Lake

5:45pm reached Holden Pass camp, 4 tents in area

Monday:

5:30am started hiking

6:15am reached continuous snow at 7,300', roped up, crampons on

8:00am took off glacier gear & transitioned to rock scrambling

9:00am everyone on summit

9:30am started down climbing, did 2 rappels but there were roughly 7 rappel stations if desired, slings were in good condition

11:00am transitioned back to glacier travel

11:45am unroped and took off crampons

12:45pm back at Holden Pass camp

1:30pm started hiking towards Martin Peak

2:00pm group was talking times on our way towards Martin & decided that we didn’t want to get up as early as needed if we camped at Holden Pass tonight, so we bailed on Martin and headed back to camp

2:30pm back at camp, started breaking down camp

3:15pm started hiking down to Holden Campground

5:30pm reached Holden Campground, setup camp, mosquitos in area

Tuesday:

7:15am started hiking towards Lucerne

10:30am reached Lucerne boat landing

3:15pm back in Chelan

Logistics Beta:

-The Chelan Lake Boat Company operates 3 ferry boats on the lake; the Lady of the Lake, Lady Express, and the Lady Liberty. The boats range in pricing, speed, and what days they operate. Check out their website for scheduling. At the same time, bring up the Holden Village website which lists the Holden Village Transport bus schedule. In 2023, the bus was running once per day on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.

-If you’re not lodging at the village, you aren’t guaranteed bus transportation. Fill out the Holden Transportation Request Form to request a bus ride.

-You can catch one of the Chelan Lake Boat Company boats either at Chelan or Field's Point landing. Field's Point has the advantage of slightly cheaper parking and spending less time on the boat in exchange for more driving time. Boarding in Chelan has the advantage that most passengers board at Field's Point, so if it's a busy weekend you can claim your choice of seating at Chelan before crowds fill the boat.

-You can take your bike/electric bike on the boat, but there’s a fee ($20-$35 in 2023). You must let the boat company know ahead of time that you’re taking a bike.

-Even if you bike the road from Lucerne to Holden Village or vise-versa, the Holden Village Transport bus will shuttle your pack/gear up to Holden for you. Of course, this is only on the days that the bus is running.

-Stop at the Holden Hiker Haus at the end of the village for water, toilet, and route conditions

-If I were to do Bonanza Peak again, I would get lodging in Holden Village and do it as a 1-day climb from town. The Holden Pass camp is a beautiful area with fantastic glacier views but you’ll save weight and time as well as have a comfy bed/more food if you stay in Holden Village. There’s also more opportunity to tag some other peaks in the area… and it seems to be the only way to guarantee that you’ll be able to get ice cream.

 Climb Beta:

-If staying near Holden Village, the Holden Ballpark Campground is a mile out along the trail. It offers two picnic benches and the creek nearby. Holden Lake has several campsites but may also include more mosquitos. Finally, Holden Pass has space for around 6-8 tents with water a few hundred feet away.

-In July, there’s numerous steams that cross the trail all the way to Holden Lake. From here you’ll be near the waterfalls up until the point you hop onto the glacier. We didn’t find any running water sources between roping up and the summit, but you could melt snow.

-The trail is good from Holden Village to Holden Lake, but becomes difficult to follow from Holden Lake to Holden Pass. If you lose the trail, just continue towards the pass and you’ll rejoin it soon.

 

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