If you've been following along with us recently, you've seen quite a few of our Glacier outings involve climbing/scrambling to the tops of Glacier's peaks (including our recent summit of Iceberg Peak). We love the physical and mental challenges in getting to the summits and the solitude that they bring.
Of course the big payoff is the sweet views you get at the top. We've been fortunate to have been all over the park, so finding different vantages are always exciting such as looking down to the iconic Iceberg Lake. It's also cool to see how different drainages connect with each other and just get an overall sense of the place.
In order for us to make it up to the top and back down safely, there's a bit of preparation that we put in.
Some of it is just the days we've spent in the mountains getting a sense of the weather, layering of clothes, and other basics that help you not only react when weather changes, but also anticipate changes and act before things go sideways.
We also work on staying in physical shape throughout the year so that our heart and lungs can keep us moving and our legs can step up AND step down for huge days. This involves both a good cardio program and a good strength training program (we have one specifically for hiking/climbing fitness here).
We also don't go out blind. We've scouted routes while hiking in areas. We'll read the classic, "Climber's Guide to Glacier National Park" and open up one of the numerous books that Blake Passmore of Climb Glacier National Park has written to get some info on the routes. In fact, I did Iceberg Peak a little over 10 years ago with Blake when working on his book covering this area with more 'bergs in the lake. (We've also done some of our own route finding for summits where we can't find info.)
While climbing Iceberg, a fit couple trail ran past us along the Northern Highline. We thought we wouldn't see them the rest of the day. But because, it appears, that they'd not done their homework, they spent over an hour trying to navigate some cliff bands. They ultimately had to down climb, then skirt the cliff bands, eventually following us up to the summit.
Climbing in Glacier is super fun and rewarding, but we see folks not knowing routes, lacking experience, lacking fitness, and generally not being prepared. When you invest a little time before you leave the house, it helps you avoid everything from an unnecessary effort or discomfort to a tragic rescue.
In the meantime, hope you enjoy the blog where you can follow us up to the top of Iceberg Peak and South Iceberg Peak.
new vantages await...
Jake and Kristen
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