Jonathan Ley's photos - Mt. Curtis-Gilbert

Mt. Curtis-Gilbert

June 2002: A climb of Mt. Curtis-Gilbert

		I had some really crazy weather during this outing. Conditions included; drizzle, clouds, overcast, wind, sun, snow, rain... even a solo bolt of lightning just as I got back to my car. This is a photo of Mt. Adams during one of the "sunny" bits.

		. At 8,184ft, Mt. Curtis-Gilbert (called Gilbert Peak on some maps), is the highest peak in the Goat Rocks - a cluster of mountains between Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams.

		I came in from the S. Fork Tieton River, past Surprise Lake and up Klickitat Ridge. I then followed the ridge up to the peak.

		This photo is taken from Klickitat Ridge (as are most of the photos in this group). The standard route to the top is along the left "flank" of the peak as seen on this photo. There is a snow-slope just on the other side of the steep rocks closer to the summit.

		The snowy north slopes of Klickitat ridge & the dark sky of eastern Washington.

		The sun hits Mt. St. Helens in the distance (southwest).

		This is a view ~north from the summit.

Where is it?

		Mt. Curtis-Gilbert is the highest point in the Goat Rocks Wilderness of Washington. The nearest trailhead is along the south fork Tieton River. Drive Hwy 12 to just east of Rimrock Reservoir and turn south on South Fork Tieton Road. Drive around the reservoir and turn left of FS#1000, the trailhead is another ~15 miles down a pretty decent road.

Before you go...

		There are a number of routes to the top of Mt. Curtis-Gilbert. If you head up the Meade or Conrad Glacier, you may want to bring standard glacier travel gear. These glaciers aren't big, but they do have some crevasses. At a minimum, you should bring an ice axe & travel with a companion. I didn't have a companion, so I headed up Klickitat Ridge - a slightly longer route only really practical in the early season when the snow makes it a little easier. If you do this route, be careful of avalanche danger on these slopes!