Agnes Mountain is a dramatic and remote peak located deep within the Glacier Peak Wilderness. It is described by mountaineer Fred Beckey as “an immense Matterhorn-shaped massif.”1 Sharing a joining ridge with the neighboring Gunsight Peak, the peaks rise just outside the southeastern tip of the classic Ptarmigan Traverse. While Gunsight Peak offers an excellent rock climb, Agnes Mountain is considered a challenging objective with much fewer footprints.
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Agnes Mountain and Gunsight Peak at a Glance
Blue Slam = Agnes Mountain + Gunsight Peak
憂鬱滿貫=艾格尼絲山+瞄準峯
Access: Stehekin, Washington
Round Trip: 33.2 miles
Elevation Range: 1600′-8198′
Gear: helmet, ice ax, rock & rope
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: no
Friday, July 17
Overview > Day 1 > Day 2 > Day 3 > Day 4
High Bridge + Approach to 5000′ Camp
A Challenging Climb in Glacier Peak Wilderness
I emailed many people before the trip, but unfortunately only heard crickets. I likely would not consider climbing these remote peaks if I were not chasing a list. But then, at the last minute, Patrick graciously agreed to join this demanding adventure. I was very grateful for his taking many days away from his fiancée and two small kids.
Patrick and I first met while climbing the notable Dome Peak, and followed that trip with Bonanza Peak. Our last big outing together was to the incredible Mox Peaks in the rugged Chilliwacks. I did not think anyone would be willing to be away from their family for that long, but I was not about to refuse or lose the offer!
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Journey to Agnes Mountain via Lady Express
Of all my visits up the valley, it was my first time on the Lady Express boat. Since most of us were all headed up to Stehekin, we were in tight spaces for several hours. I was not entirely sure how effective social distancing would be here on the beautiful water.
The two-hour boat ride went by in the blink of an eye with a much-needed nap. Despite not seeing specific “face coverings required” signs, I was glad everyone was responsible and wore masks. I also took a moment to review the company’s COVID-19 policies to learn more about the situation.
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The White Bus Ride to the Trailhead
The Red Bus was not running this year due to the global outbreak, so Stehekin Valley Ranch offered transport. We happily shared the bus with two other climbing parties who were also eager to begin their adventures. One was a group of four on their way to climb the formidable Goode Mountain and Storm King.
Soon, we exited the bus at High Bridge, the end of the road, after an eleven-mile ride. We then took a short break before continuing on our journey toward the majestic Agnes Mountain. Patrick was quite eager to get going, so we made a last-minute gear check before heading south on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).
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PCT Southbound to Agnes Mountain
Views in the dense forest were minimal before we eventually lost sight of McGregor Mountain far behind us. The walk was rather uneventful as we chatted along the well-beaten path, but I was glad for Patrick’s company. He must have packed the entire food aisle because his pack was enormous, and we laughed about it!
About 8.2 miles from High Bridge was the Swamp Creek fork, where we paused for a much-needed blister taping break. Vivid memories of climbing Dark Peak surfaced as I waited for Patrick to finish his foot care. After walking for another 1.5 miles, we soon reached the confluence of Agnes Creek and Spruce Creek.
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Navigating the Raging Agnes Creek
We carefully looked for sturdy logs to cross the raging Agnes Creek and soon saw one near the camp. It looked like the same one other parties had used before to cross the fast-moving water safely. But we continued on the trail, hoping to find something larger since Patrick felt uneasy about the small log.
Without any luck upstream, the tiny log was our only viable option to continue the approach. It took impressive acrobatic moves to get ourselves and the heavy packs to reach the heftier downed tree. Then we took turns scooching over two annoying upright stobs in the midpoint of the slippery log.
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Crossing the Mighty Spruce Creek
We had completely forgotten about Spruce Creek until we were near it. Luckily, the only downed tree over the rushing creek was much beefier than the last one we found. So we took turns and carefully walked right to the other side of the fast-moving creek. But our challenging battle was far from over.
Soon, we entered the open forest north of Spruce Creek, and the terrain became more difficult to navigate. I had initially wanted to go up the steep slopes and then traverse west over the top of two gullies. But as it quickly became too brushy to continue, we backtracked toward the creek, our last water source before camp.
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Making Camp Below Asa Peak
It only took a short traverse east before we had to stop and reassess our planned route. We then realized that the only feasible way was to go straight up before drowning in a sea of vine maples. From 3000 to 3600 feet was the most excruciating, as there was no easy way around the continuous dense brush.
As luck would have it, we stumbled upon some faint animal trails and eagerly followed them for a while. The steepness of the terrain persisted as we finally reached the semi-open forest at around 4000 feet. Since leaving the creeks, Patrick felt quite ill but managed to pull through to our makeshift camp at 5000 feet.
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Saturday, July 18
Overview > Day 1 > Day 2 > Day 3 > Day 4
Icy-Spruce Creek Pass Camp + Anges Mountain
Ascending Toward Icy-Spruce Creek Pass
We awoke to another glorious day with the sun shining brightly through the trees. Our first goal for today was going up to the 6760-foot pass, involving 1800 feet of steep ascent. Then, we would set up camp before making our push toward the majestic Agnes Mountain. Patrick had a restful evening and was ready to go again.
We continued up the steep slopes so we could successfully bypass the two ravines I had intended to avoid yesterday. At 5400 feet, we started moving west-northwest while aiming for the 6760-foot pass as we went through several ribs. Later, at 6400 feet, our goal for day three, the impressive Gunsight Peak, came into our view.
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En Route to Agnes Mountain
I had initially planned to spend the night in the beautiful 6400-foot basin that was adorned with lovely streams. But now, we could be much closer to our first goal by staying on the saddle. We set up camp and relaxed a bit before grabbing our gear and heading up toward Point 7458.
Soon, we reached the high point, but we did not have enough route information to safely bypass Point 7760. So instead, we scrambled down to the 7200-foot notch and dropped 1000 feet on the snowfield into Yew Creek. From there, we went north toward the steep, narrow snow couloir south of Agnes Mountain.
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Climbing High on Agnes Mountain
The steep couloir seemed to go on forever with a grueling 1300-foot gain to the notch. I later left the snow about 200 feet below the pass and used a rock ledge to move more efficiently. Patrick stayed on the steep snow up to the very top of the challenging couloir. But the final 50 feet up to the notch was on a loose rock and a hard dirt ramp.
Shortly, we dropped about 20 feet down the west, and from there, we saw the next objective. After going through a small snowfield, we kept our crampons on for the steep gully ahead. Before long, we left our extra gear at the top of the snow and scrambled to the upper snow patch.
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Navigating the Chimney Crux
Patrick brought enough climbing gear for a small army as we prepared to tackle the 5.6 chimney crux. After following him through several pros, we were atop the broad chimney, feeling accomplished. Then we climbed up the west face for the final 100-foot scramble to the top of the peak.
The last bit was quite steep with loose rocks, plus it had some significant exposure. Meanwhile, everything we touched seemed to move as we carefully tested every single hold. Soon, we reached this pointy summit in the remote Glacier Peak Wilderness, feeling exhausted but overjoyed.
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Agnes Mountain Summit Views
As I savored the breathtaking views with too many stunning peaks to name, I realized the immense effort it took. The area sees fewer visitors, and more often than not, people climb the neighboring Dome Peak. They climb Sinister Peak, too, if they are after the coveted Bulger List.
After a 45-minute visit to the summit, we rappelled twice down to our stashed gear below. Then, from the snow gully, we went down the moat on choss instead while kicking down rocks with every careful step. But we kept a reasonable distance so as not to knock things down on the other person.
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A Night at 6760′ Camp
Neither of us wanted to go through the steep and dangerous snow couloir again. Moreover, we decided not to try looking for a way to safely bypass Point 7760 in the dark. So instead, we dropped about 300 feet over the rocks before returning to the snow gully. Another 1000-foot descent then put us at the tip of the buttress.
The steep snow north of Point 7458 took us up the ridge and back toward the col. We then retraced our steps to camp at sunset with breathtaking views on both sides of the ridge. After hanging my food on a nearby tree, I spent the night keeping the pesky rats away from my tent.
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Sunday, July 19
Overview > Day 1 > Day 2 > Day 3 > Day 4
Gunsight Peak + PCT Camp
Climbing the Famous Gunsight Peak
The morning came much too soon, and before we knew it, we were aiming for the Blue Glacier. We bypassed Point 7070 to the pass above Blue Lake and bypassed the east ridge by traversing over the snow. But we ended up on the wrong col, just like Eric and his son did two years earlier.
Soon, we went down on the snow, walked north a short way, and went up one notch to the north. We then scrambled class 3-4 terrain to finally reach the correct notch, which was a great relief. It turned out to be more exhausting than we had originally anticipated, but it was great to reach the correct saddle.
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Above the Impressive Chickamin Glacier
The view of the Chickamin Glacier was beyond words, and I never thought I would be back here again. Let alone see Sinister and Dome Peaks, which Patrick and I climbed together in 2014, on the other side of the glacier. Before long, we reached the bottom of the broken snow ramp, which looked challenging from below.
But to our dismay, despite heavy snowpack this year, moats had formed much earlier. The gap was a few feet wide, so I belayed Patrick from the snow, and he brought me onto the wet slabs. From there, I placed a picket and quickly went over to the anchor for the next moves.
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The 5.6 Crux on Gunsight Peak
Shortly, I belayed Patrick over before he led through the crux in the corner of the rock face. We were both glad to see dry rocks where other parties had encountered mud and slippery conditions. The two rappel stations at the top of the pitch assured us that we were still on the correct route.
Once Patrick belayed me around the minor ridge to a safe spot, we simul-climbed along the dike. In hindsight, we did not need to rope up here as it was class 3 to 4 at most. Shortly, we reached the col between the north and the middle peaks of the stunning Gunsight Peak massif.
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The Challenging Class 4 Chimney
We roped up and traversed the class 4 ledge over the west face for a full 100 feet. It would be possible to simul-climb this section if we could see what was ahead of us. Soon, we were on the ridgetop above the chimney, but the summit was still out of our sight.
We stayed tied in as Patrick led me to the summit of the remote Gunsight Peak. Going through this part was rather awkward since all the boulders pointed in various angles. We would sometimes have to take giant steps while squeezing through the massive and imposing slabs.
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Viewing Agnes Mountain from Gunsight Peak
Views on Agnes Mountain the day before were excellent, but the vistas from here were even more stunning. First, Sinister and Dome Peaks were practically in our faces as they filled the entire western skyline. It was very hard to take our eyes off those incredibly beautiful and majestic summits across the valley.
Other notable places we could see from the summit included the remote Sentinel Peak and Old Guard Peak. The ones over by Dana Glacier included the pointy Spire Point that dominated the view. Plus, Bonanza Peak and Glacier Peak loomed in the southern skyline with too many high points to name!
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Returning to the High Camp
We rappelled once from the top of the chimney and traversed over to the notch we crossed earlier. Soon, we downclimbed to the second rappel station and rappelled again to the ledge above the vast glacier. We made another rappel onto the snow from the lower anchor for the exit.
Patrick’s water pouch fell onto the glacier on the way in, so he dropped 200 feet to recover it. We later met up by the buttress below the notch and continued our descent back to our high camp. Then, it was only a long ridge traverse to return to camp before leaving the area.
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Leaving the Agnes Mountain Area
We enjoyed a brief stay at our camp, but needed to pack and go as far out as possible. The white bus would leave High Bridge at 8:40 AM the next day, and we needed to make the 12:30 PM ferry! We had hoped to reach the Pacific Crest Trail by nightfall, but we were not sure if we would make it.
The part I dreaded the most was going through the thick and unforgiving brush again at the bottom. From the 5000-foot camp, it was back to fighting the terrible fight with the dense vegetation. But at least we were moving downhill this time, and we made it to Spruce Creek after much cursing. Soon, the two log crossings put us back on the PCT.
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Monday, July 20
Overview > Day 1 > Day 2 > Day 3 > Day 4
High Bridge + Exit
Back on the Pacific Crest Trail
We rested by the creek for a while, and I also took a nap while Patrick organized his gear. Soon, we started the 10-mile walk to High Bridge, where we would catch the shuttle bus. At one point, I even tried staying awake by listening to some podcasts. Then, I asked Patrick to go ahead while I took another much-needed nap during our final break.
I had difficulty falling asleep and walked a bit more before napping at another trailside camp for a while. My phone battery was very low, and then it died after the alarm went off in my sleep. But glad I woke up just in time and then continued my journey down the trail to meet up with Patrick.
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High Bridge to Stehekin Ferry Dock
As I neared the switchbacks above the gorge, Patrick came back running up the trail toward me. Somehow, he thought I had taken a different trail and was frantically looking for me everywhere. But he felt a great sigh of relief after knowing that we were still on the right track.
We had a half-hour to kill before the shuttle arrived, so we rested our tired legs. Meanwhile, we chatted with a few Pacific Crest Trail hikers who came out of the woods after us. The bus made several stops back to the dock, including the famous and delicious Stehekin Pastry Company.
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Reflecting on the Agnes Mountain Adventure
We had even more time to kill back at the pier after wolfing down the pastries. I took a long nap on a bench while Patrick slept soundly under the nearby bulletin board. What an exhausting and incredible trip it was to the magnificent Agnes Mountain and Gunsight Peak! But next time, I want to explore Stehekin without climbing being the main objective.
Not seeing as many people on the ferry as the boat left the landing was a big relief. We soon went back to sleep and woke later to the captain’s loud voice through the speakers. “We will be arriving in Fields Point Landing shortly…” as he announced energetically.
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Overview > Day 1 > Day 2 > Day 3 > Day 4
- Wikipedia: Geology of Agnes Mountain. ↩︎