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Mt. Pendleton

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About Mt. Pendleton:

Hidden up the a fork of the Toklat river is Mt. Pendleton and the Pendleton Glacier, one of the more accessible alpine challenges of Denali National Park for those without the $$$ for a plane ride. There are actually a group of summits, all topping out wihtin a few feet in elevation of each other. You can actually get some good technical alpine climbing in here with only three or four days to spend in the park.

The most straightforward approach is through a wildlife closure, so instead, head up the northerly fork along the riverbed for a few miles before crossing the hump to drop back down into the valley you want. From there it's a good slog up the moraine and glacier to your choice of objectives - the twin summits at the top of a headwall in the final cirque, or up an icefall on the right to a third peak. Crevasses and rockfall are constant hazards from the moment you step on the glacier.

If the crappy schist is not to your taste, there's a large wall on the east side of the glacier that looks like an outcropping of golden granite and has probably never been climbed. No idea how hard it might be...

Note: It is a little known fact that you can exceed the backcountry permit quotas in Denali with a climber's permit. These require you to be making a technical ascent and to camp on rock or ice, but you won't have to put off your planned climb because the unit is booked for backpackers.

Nearest town or city: Healy/Glitter Gulch
Directions: Update
Latitude, Longitude: Update
Access Issues: Update
Camping: Update
When to Climb: Update
Quantity of Climbs: Week