The beautiful views from this summit are a fantastic reward for the intensity of this scramble. Adequately condition yourself and pack accordingly for this hike.
Follow the Moraine Lake Trail until you reach the junction on your right. Grind up relentless switchbacks until the next trail junction. Stay right and enter Larch Valley. Walk across this open space, looking at flowers and wildlife that may appear.
Ascend Sentinel Pass, making sure to take pictures of both Larch Valley and Paradise Valley, as the scenery is breathtaking. Go right at Sentinel Pass and churn up the scree slopes past the first rock band. Climb over the short band at the second gully, and continue up the slope.
Follow cairns and well-worn scree slopes up the center of the mountain, sticking slightly to the right. Make sure to avoid the cornices as you near the summit, as they are precariously balanced and can drop you thousands of feet. Summit and take in the breathtaking views! Follow your path carefully back down the mountain and return to the parking lot.
Expect a round-trip time to be anywhere between 7 and 12 hours depending on rest time and conditioning. Note that there is a group size restriction on this trail due to the presence of bears. You must have a group of four, but you can usually wait at the trailhead for other people.
Moraine Lake Road is closed October through May.
Comments
The route finding on this ridge can be tricky as there are many false routes, and bad cairnes. Key decision points are crossing through the grey band. As you approach the first cliffy section, there will be two gulleys. You can ascend the first if you like, but it's fairly challenging scrambling. The easier route is about 5m beyond the second gulley. You will ascend lot's of scree, and get to a second cliff band, but this is much easier. Once on the ridge it is very straight forward scree slogg to the top.
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