8/9/2026 Route: East Face - North Fork Lake Creek Posted On: 8/9/2026, By: IHikeLikeAGirl Info: No register. Steep ascent immediately upon leaving the trail, ~2 mi from TH. Was able to follow tundra 98.013% of the way to the ridge/summit. Tough to get footing at times. 2,000+ feet in a little over a mile. Once on the summit I saw a gentler way to ascend/descend, just adds a little more distance. Take the trail up ~2.5 mi from TH and more or less follow the creek up. I didn't take it down as I wasn't sure what the willows would be like. My quads, toes, and knees might have thanked me more. Only people I saw were 2 people on the ridge from Twining. I took some pics, but you are probably a smudgy speck...still cool to see you 2 up there. Sounded like you were having fun! |
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7/19/2026 Route: North Ridge Posted On: 7/19/2026, By: Scott P Info: East side is part of the wildfire closure. Only the west side access is available at this time. |
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6/21/2026 Route: East Flank, from North Fork Lake Creek Posted On: 6/21/2026, By: mijoflynn Info: Normally this peak is hiked via the class 3 south ridge from Twining, or the class 3 north ridge from Lost Man Pass. But with 40mph winds forecast (day after day after day this month!!!), I decided to try it from the more sheltered east side. Took the North Fork Lake Creek Trail for about 2.5 miles, then climbed into the upper basin, then ascended SE tundra slopes to the summit. It totally goes: 7.5 miles, about 2700', nothing worse than steep class 2. Took just a couple of steps on low-angle snow in the basin. Hazy today . . . and, ironically, not terribly windy up top. I'll post a TR later in the day, since there's virtually no beta on this approach. |
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6/23/2023 Route: Independence Lake Posted On: 6/25/2023, By: 9patrickmurphy Info: This peak is a lovely addition to the 13ers list. There is currently a lot of snow on the trail, intermittent starting after the first creek crossing, then steady after 12,200. Almost entirely dry from the saddle to the summit, and the ridge proper is a lot of very fun class 3 slabs. If you orphaned this one like I did, you're in for a lovely little 3-hour hike, perfect to do on the way to or from something else! |
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5/29/2023 Route: North face ski descent Posted On: 5/29/2023, By: SnowAlien Info: Approached from Twinning (Blue Lake side). Was able to skin most of the approach, but booted maybe the last 100 ft. North face looked spicy, but doable. I scouted the line from the ridge before dropping in. Reclimbed back to the ridge, using both snow and tundra. Easy egress to the hwy, smooth snow, no suncups yet. Hitchhiked back to the top of the pass. |
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8/7/2022 Route: Indy Pass Posted On: 8/8/2022, By: kwhit24 Info: I got to Indy Pass at 5:15am and waited a little bit until it got a little lighter. There were only about 5 cars there at the time. The route up Pt 13,500 has a good trail most of the way and over to Twining wasn't any more difficult than class 2. It was still class 2 coming off Twining Pk to the saddle aside from one class 3 move towards the bottom. The route up Pt 13,545 had a little maneuvering and Class 2+ stuff with a little exposure in spots. Coming off Pt 13,545 had a few Class 3 area but I mostly tried staying close to the ridge. That was the most difficult part of the hike but Mav handled it with no help needed. Once at the saddle you can see the trail down to Lost Man Lake which you follow for like 3/4 of a mile. Saw 7 mountain goats past the lake. Picked my way up to Pt 13,001 (Now 13,006 and no longer the lowest ranked 13er) with no issues then back to the saddle. The route up East and West Geissler Mtns were pretty straight and lead to some great views of the surrounding areas. To get back to the car I just contoured between 12,400 and 12,500 to avoid too much extra up and down on the rolling slopes. (11.94 mi; 4,790' gain; 7:34:45 total time) Start at TH 5:45am; PT 13,500 6:40am; Twining Peak 7:15am; PT 13,545 8:00am; PT 13,001 9:25am; East Geissler Mtn 10:45am; West Geissler Mtn 11:35am; Back to TH 1:20pm |
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7/15/2022 Route: Loop from Geisslers Posted On: 7/15/2022, By: yaktoleft13 Info: Summer conditions. Avoidable lingering snow to gain the sw ridge of Geissler west. A couple of easy scrambling sections particularly going up to 13545 |
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6/18/2021 Route: Loop from Independence Pass Posted On: 6/18/2021, By: angry Info: UN13,500 > Twining > UN13,545 > East Geissler > West Geissler. 13,545 was the best of this loop. Fun scrambling. Summer conditions and any remaining snow patches are avoidable or of no consequence. No summit register. |
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9/13/2020 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 9/13/2020, By: Flyingfish Info: The class 3 is mostly dry but when there is snow it is very sketchy. I wished I had an ice axe but am not sure where it would have helped. Should be melted out in a few days |
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9/25/2019 Route: South Ridge, Northwest Ridge Posted On: 9/26/2019, By: supranihilest Info: The ridge between Twinning and Point 13,545 is a scramblefest. It's easier than it looks. There's a number of towers and blocks on the ridge and many have Class 2+ options on either the east or west sides. The second to last and the last blocks had a Class 3 slab down climb and a Class 3 up climb, respectively. Neither was particularly difficult but the rock along the entire ridge was friable and care must be taken to test holds. The northwest ridge descent was likewise Class 3 and easier than it looked. Some parts of the ridge are narrow and slabby, and the entire thing is covered in friable rock. Resist the temptation to descend down one of the gullies west towards Independence Lake, the ridge eventually relents to Class 2 and you can make your way towards the saddle or the lake from its northern reaches. |