Climb your mountain (or one of these) in 2024
Expert mountaineers share their favorite big objectives in North America, to help set your sights high and pull out of the pandemic slump.
Winds on Denali. Photo by Bryan Goff.
Following a few years of pandemic slump, global travel roared back into full swing during the past year. Now, 2024 could be the perfect time to get serious about your next big mountain objective. For most of us, bucket-list peaks of the Himalaya and other far-flung ranges remain out of the question, but North America has its own host of high-altitude options for all skill levels. Here are some ideas to inspire your next big trip.
The Alaska Range
If you can make it to Alaska, you will of course find the ultimate in North American mountaineering. The Alaska Range is 400 miles of mountains stretching from south-central Alaska to the White River in Canada’s Yukon Territory, and it’s home to Denali––the only US peak surpassing 6,000 m / 20,000 ft. “The Alaska Range is amazing,” says Ed Viesturs, a member of the Global Rescue Mountain Advisory Council, and the only American to have climbed all 14 of the world’s 8,000+ meter peaks. “I went back to Denali after 20 years in the Himalaya, and Denali is just like the Himalaya in feel. It’s just as cold, remote, and challenging.”
John “Jed” Williamson agrees. He’s an expert who’s collected data on North American mountaineering for 40 years. He highlights the Alaska Range for providing worthy, high-altitude challenges that can be relatively safe. “Denali sees a bit over 1,000 attempts each year, mostly on the West Buttress,” he says. “Denali’s [other] routes include the great, technically challenging Cassin Ridge, to the Pioneer Route over on the Muldrow Glacier,” he says. Besides Denali, the Alaska Range includes many other excellent peaks like Hunter, Huntington, Foraker, Moose’s Tooth, and Braille. Williamson adds, “Mount Foraker (17,402 ft) is the next highest and a good choice, along with Mount Deborah (12,339 ft). They’re both classics yet not often climbed.”
View toward Mount Foraker from camp on Denali. Photo by twiga_269.
Canadian Peaks
In Canada, the Yukon is home to Mount Logan (nearly 6,000 m / 20,000 ft) and nine other mountains each reaching 4,500 m (15,000 ft) or more. Logan is similar to Denali in its expedition character, route length, altitude, ever-changing weather threats, and general risks. British Columbia’s Mount Robson (3,954 m / 12,972 ft) is known as one of the more difficult climbs in Canada, considered an ideal ascent for advanced mountaineers looking to test their skills. About the Canadian ranges Williamson says, “I’d consider going to the border peak region––going in from Kluane national Park and Reserve––the usual jumping off place for Mt. Logan. Also, take a look at Mount Vancouver and Good Neighbor Peak, which can be done as one climb.”
Giants of The Lower 48
Alaska and Canada of course steal the spotlight when it comes to big mountains, but ranges in the Continental US should not be overlooked. The Cascade Range of Washington, Oregon, and Northern California has some excellent technical climbs. One of the best is Washington’s Mount Baker (3,286 m / 10,781 ft), featuring several 60 to 70-degree ice pitches. Then there’s the north ridge of Mount Stuart (2,870 m / 9,416 ft), containing a steady ascent up immaculate cracks, over knife-edge ridges, and imposing pinnacles to the summit. Viesturs recommends the Cascades, too, since they are affectionately called the American Alps. “The approaches make it feel like it’s remote. There are lots of technical climbs. You can spend a lifetime there and be happy.” He goes further to explain, “[These] technical climbs are steeper, icier, the angles are sharp, and it’s all rock and ice. It’s not a walk up. You’re putting in anchors, belaying, using ice tools. It’s steep, mixed climbing.”
Climbing Mount Baker in the Cascade Range of Washington. Photo by Patrick Lewis.
Outside of the Cascades are still plenty of options. In Wyoming, the Tetons are a well-known training ground for technical climbs. Farther south, the Sierra Nevada has a handful of peaks surpassing 14,000 feet, and early season conditions can make them more technical with snow and possibly ice on the routes. Even on the East Coast, the White Mountains of New Hampshire are a respectable training ground during winter and early spring conditions.
If you feel 2024 is the time to conquer a mountain objective, you may not have to look as far as you think. Even if you can’t make it to one of the big-name classics, or if you aren’t ready for that bucket-list ascent, worthy objectives can be found closer to home. Maybe this year should be for advancing your skills, with routes that pose just enough technical terrain. Then you can push for bigger goals and more exotic destinations with confidence in the future.
Penn Burris is senior advisor with Global Rescue and has more than three decades mountaineering, guide, outdoor, and wilderness medicine experience with the American Alpine Club, the Colorado Mountain Club, and others.