Clark Peak.jpg

Trip Report    

Basic Glacier Climb - Clark Mountain/Walrus Glacier

Successful 2-day climb to a remote peak with a great group.

  • Road rough but passable

This trip was a planned overnight trip with a group of six Mountaineers.

We set out from the White River trailhead (2000 ft) at 9 AM. The approach to camp was uneventful. It follows the White River trail for a flat 4 miles then takes an eastward turn at Boulder River trail for another 7 miles until our camp at Boulder Pass. The bugs were out in full force, which probably hastened our pace, though there were plenty of fragrant wildflowers to stop and smell. We only met one other person on the approach. The stream crossing at 4200 ft was a bit slippery, but passable. A change of shoes helped.

Clark Approach.jpg

We reached Boulder Pass at 3 PM. There was some snow at Boulder Pass at 6200 ft, but plenty of dry spots to pitch a tent. Here, we encountered a party of two who were circumnavigating Glacier Peak, but didn't stop. We had the whole area to ourselves. Bugs weren't as bad there thanks to the wind. Water was easily accessible.

Clark Camp.jpg

On summit day we left camp at 3:45 AM. We headed east of Boulder Pass, downclimbing rock to drop into a snow field before starting our ascent onto the glacier. We roped up at about 7000 feet. Beautiful views emerged as the sun came out. However, the heat hit quickly and stayed hot throughout the day. Crevasses are quite open now, which made for more challenging navigation than early season. We did see some ice fall during our traverse of the glacier, but felt it was isolated enough to continue. The snow was fairly soft all day - it didn't freeze overnight.

Clark Crevasse.jpg

For the final summit push, we had to descend a bit to 8000 ft west of the glacier. We unroped and took a rock scramble from the south to the summit. We reached the summit at about 9 AM. Gorgeous views of a looming Glacier Peak, and Mount Rainier in the distance.

Took the same route back as we came, taking care in the softer snow. We made it back to camp at 1 PM.  It was really hot by then, so helpful to take a longish break for water and shade. One of the members of party saw a black bear near his camp, but he disappeared before the rest of us could spot him. We packed up and headed back out at 2. We had a near miss when I fell into the stream crossing, which was higher than the day before, but no damage besides a large bruise. Despite the mishap, we reached the trailhead around 7:10 PM.

Obligatory summit photo:

Clark Summit.jpg