The north end of Glacier National Park in Montana is best accessed from Waterton Lakes. Take the boat (and your passport just in case) to Goat Haunt at the south end of Upper Waterton Lake. We had a summer cabin in Waterton and I spent 17 summers here. Over that time, I made several trips to Glacier NP.
MOUNT CLEVELAND
This massive mountain, the highest in the park at 10,466’, can be climbed by several routes. The standard is the west-face route. The summit views of all the big mountains in the Rockies of Alberta, BC and Montana are stupendous. Looking down the vertical 4,000-foot north face is awe-inspiring. It is the largest face of any mountain in the Lower 48.
West Face route. The summit is about 13 km from Goat Haunt gaining 6100 feet. The common access is a small creek about 2.8km from Goat Haunt. Don’t go up Camp Creek about .8km further south as it is very bushy. An elk trail can be followed but I have always lost it on the ascent and ended up on a nasty 6-hour bushwack through alder. It is much easier to follow on the descent. Most people climb Cleveland on a two-day trip and camp in a basin below the waterfall on the SW face.
The one time I climbed it in one day (with my 9-year-old son), I took a route I had not seen described elsewhere. Shortly after leaving Goat Haunt, cross a wet meadow to reach the obvious NW ridge, the right skyline of both these photos. Walk up the ridge on a faint animal trail until some ledges that continue onto the west face. These end up above the waterfall, and then it is a simple scramble, passing cliff bands to the right, and 3500 feet to the south ridge. It is a gradual walk up this ridge to the summit. Descend the same way or find the elk trail by descending below the waterfall (which I have been able to do the two times I climbed the mountain).
The first time I climbed Cleveland, alone, I encountered a grizzly on the south ridge turning over rocks to eat the ladybugs. Five young climbers were killed in an avalanche on the West face in 1969.
GOAT HAUNT TO AKAMINA PASS
This 4-day backpacking trip is on a trail to Boulder Pass, goes off trail over Mount Forum and then down the BC/Alberta border cut to Akamina Pass.
Day 1. Take the boat down Upper Waterton Lake to Goat Haunt. Begin on the Rainbow Falls Trail, at .9km branch on the Lakeshore Trail and cross the Waterton River. At .5km beyond the bridge, the Boulder Pass Trail branches left (west). The trail rises quickly 5.6km to Lake Janet with a small campground. Continue to Lake Francis at 10km and camp at the Hawksbill Campsite, a short climb above the lake. A spectacular waterfall spills down from Dixon Glacier into Lake Francis. It is popular with fishermen.
Day 2. The subalpine is entered as you climb to Brown Pass at 13.8km from Goat Haunt. Brown is a wide pass with Thunderbird Mountain and its glacier to the south. Beyond Brown Pass, the alpine is reached and the views are stunning.
At about 1 kilometre past the pass, we climbed 2900’ up Mt Chapman (9,406’) on the obvious route. Views of the surrounding mountains are superb and Hole-in-the-Wall campsite seems right at your feet. Lake Wurdeman lies to the north.
Back on the trail, at 16.6km, a spur trail drops down to the Hole-in-the-Wall campsite in a staircase cirque carved from Mt Custer. Waterfalls pour into the basin that is home to a lot of wildlife. A habituated mountain goat stole clothes out of our tent! This is a spectacular place to camp.
Day 3. The trail to Boulder Pass arcs high above the basin ascending through an unusual outcropping of pillow lava deposited into an inland sea millions of years ago. It is a straightforward climb up Mt Custer (8883). From the top are great views to the north down to Cameron Lake and Waterton and Lake Nooney immediately below to the east. Case out the north side of Mt Forum, your destination later in the day. On the top, we saw a wolverine.
Back down at the trail, cross an area glaciated in the 60s, with many scars of the glacial action. Ascend to Boulder Pass and then drop off the trail to the north down a steep slope with a good animal trail on the right that continues down to Kintla Creek. Follow deep animal trails up the creek scouting out a route up the steep cliffs that form the south face of Forum. Scramble through the cliff bands eventually reaching the prominent cement cairn marking the continental divide and the US/Canada boundary. From the cairn, scramble straight up to the top of Mt Forum.
From the top of Mt Forum, drop down to the west to the immediate low point to access a game trail that switchbacks down and then continues east under the cliff forming the north face of Forum. There are steep drops down to Forum Lake. When you reach the continental divide, continue down the border cut to Akamina Pass and the Akamina Parkway. Hopefully, you have shuttled a car or arranged a pickup. Hitchhiking back to town should not be difficult.
LOGAN PASS TO UPPER WATERTON LAKE
This 55km backpack starts at Logan Pass on the Going-to-the-Sun-Road, a spectacular drive that is open only a few months of the year. Built in 1933, it was considered a major feat in its day. The trail follows the Highline Trail under the continental divide. Called the Garden Wall, game especially goats are often seen and we passed one sitting beside the trail. At 3 miles we climbed Mt Gould (9,553) and then continued onto Granite Park at 12km with a chalet and campground. A deer attempted to steal clothes from our tent.
The Highline trail continues to Fifty Mountain and a campground at 29km. It then descends 2400’ to the Waterton Valley. Another 20 km along the Waterton Valley brings you to Goat Haunt where you can catch a boat or continue on the Lakeshore Trail 13.9km to the Waterton townsite.
ICEBERG PEAK TRAVERSE
Start at Many Glacier in Glacier NP on the Ptarmigan Trail 7.6 km to Iceberg Lake. Mount Wilbur forms the huge vertical face to the south of the lake. Continue on the right side of the lake and scramble straight up a gully to the base of the great cliffs above and then up a couloir to Iceberg Notch. Follow the ridge up to the top of Iceberg Peak. Descend to the south, continuing south to under the North Swiftcurrent Glacier where meet the trail coming down from Swiftcurrent Pass. Return to Many Glacier.
Drive on the Chief Mountain Hwy 17 from Waterton. 7.2 km north of the beginning of Hwy 17, take a narrow dirt lane heading across the fields towards Chief. Drive as far as possible and park at the top of a hill.
Head towards the north end of the mountain and go up the scree directly toward the great notch on the north corner of the summit ridge. Scramble up a narrow scree passageway through the notch. Walk onto the east face on a distinct climber’s trail toward the south reaching the top of the summit ridge in 10 minutes. Walk south on the ridge top 250 m to the summit cairn. Negotiate a 9’ notch with some exposure and an easy solid chimney up the last 15-foot cliffs just north of the summit cairn. Since I last did this a huge portion of the cliff fell off so the route may have changed.
