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Forbidden Peak 3-day guided climb in the Boston Basin

Forbidden Peak 3-day guided climb in the Boston Basin | undefined

Access the pristine Forbidden Peak of the Boston Basin with AMGA-certified guide Matt, which rests in the wonderful heart of Washington’s North Cascades.

Cascade Range

3 Days

Jun - Sep

High

All levels


Highlights

  • Climb North America's Forbidden Peak.
  • The classic West Ridge features in a famed guidebook.
  • Tailor your climb to your level of ability.

Description

Conquer the Forbidden Peak by facing 3 amazing ridges, including the West Ridge, which is featured in the classic climbing guidebook Fifty Classic Climbs of North America.

The ridges on the north and east have more of a remote feel about them. It’s likely that we will have these two ridges to ourselves. All 3 ridges are great to climb from June to September.

Each of these 3 routes entails different approaches, and depending on your own skill level, we can climb the route best suited for you.

Standing 2,687 meters tall, the Forbidden Peak is one of the most popular mountains in the entire North Cascades.

Its perfect 3 ridges, which converge towards the pointed summit, feels like North America’s answer to Europe’s Matterhorn.

With a combination of quality rock and classic route, the climb is spectacular and the views superb.

For climbers that are interested in the Forbidden Peak, you will need experience with using an ice axe and crampons to climb on snow of up to 50 Fahrenheit (10 Celsius). In addition, like any moderate alpine route, a good level of fitness is necessary to make the climb enjoyable and safe.

For West Ridge climbers, this beginner route involves a 3-4 hour hike, and a couple of hours of climbing. For East Ridge climbers, this intermediate route involves a several-hour approach. And for North Ridge climbers, this advanced route is usually done in 2 days.

Reserve your place now among the natural majesty of North America. Climb the Forbidden Peak in the Boston Basin on this 3-day climb, and tailor it to your level and experience of climbing.

Price includes

  • Guiding fee
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner

Itinerary

Day 1: Into the Boston Basin

After a 3-hour drive from Seattle we will enter the North Cascades National Park. From the trailhead, we climb a steep, rugged trail into the Boston Basin at 5,700 feet. We establish camp adjacent to the incredible alpine meadows, enjoy the views, and eat a delicious dinner before getting a good night’s sleep.

Day 2: Climb the Forbidden Peak

Each route entails different approaches, depending on your level of skill and experience, each taking a full day to complete.

Day 3: Return

We wake up, have a leisurely breakfast, and return to the trailhead.

 

About the guide

Guide profile image

Matt

2.0

(1)

Ski Guide

I am the founder of BC Adventure Guides, a certified Ski-Mountaineering Guide with the American Mountain Guides Association and a certified Avalanche Instructor with the American Avalanche Association dedicated to perfecting my craft. I began skiing as disco was dying at New York’s Hunter Mountain, ’The Snow Making Capital of the World’ and a summer ski trip to Mt Hood inspired me years later to move from New York City to Washington State for college and he never looked back.

I let my curiosity for steep, wild snow combine with my passion for travel, and big mountains into guiding, leading trips to Antarctica, Europe, Asia, North & South America.

In an effort to help preserve wild places, I completed my MBA in sustainable business from BGI and started my own company, Back Country Adventure Guides. I now share my passion for snow with my daughter between completing my ‘honey do list’ and enjoying the greatest touring on Earth at Snoqualmie Pass.

Languages

French | English

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What people are saying about Matt

Chris

Since Explore-Share has asked three times, here goes. We had a quite mixed experience with Matt and BCA at Rogers Pass this early March. The day 1 avalanche search and rescue instruction was thorough and one of the best I have taken. The guiding showed the benefit of having local knowledge. These guides did not have it. They were working in significant part from the Rogers Pass guidebook, which provides quite vague and brief descriptions of potential routes. After seeing the strengths and weaknesses of the team on day 1, on day 2 the guides nevertheless took us uphill in a nasty skintrack steeply up through tight trees for 500+ meters and lasting 4+ hours due to the terrain and group speed. Despite lack of local knowledge, understanding the map and in the first 5 minutes it was clear that this would be an epic and excessively difficult climb for the group. They continued up. Then, from an ~8:30 start, by 1:20 there had only been one food/water break taken / called or suggested. While our 2nd group was awaiting the first group to move forward, when I suggested we were overdue to take in some fuel, guide Matt said, “no please wait, we will break out of the trees soon.” (This proved to be >20 minutes away) after I stated the obvious need and that our group were going to take a break, we had taken a quick bite and re-caught the group in front of us, as I’d predicted. Inadequate group energy management by this guide. I saw no or nearly no skin track corners improvement by the guides, including many challenging ones that the guides blew though. Improving them evidently is standard by BC (British Columbia in this case) guides from my 11 previous ski touring days in the area. Nearly zero efforts to improve corners were observed in this case, despite the day 2 quite rugged skintrack steeply up in tight trees and several beginner kick turning skier or soft-booted splitboarders struggling with the line. (Including sliding backwards / downhill from one switchback to the next) Good instruction by the guides on how to make kick turns, but many of the turns were objectively much more challenging than they needed to be given no improvement made. At least one team member was so (unnecessarily had we had better route selection) gripped and depleted from the climb up that he skied well below his ability on the down. Our group had good trips on the 3rd and 4th day with 2nd guide Sam, who picked appropriate routes for the group and was responsive to requests to further shape the route to the abilities of the group. He found us good snow amid mixed conditions and on appropriate terrain. Safety and terrain stuff, no concerns. Food, dinners and breakfasts (2 each) provided at the hut, included a dinner that was far too skinny and which was nowhere near enough. Chicken quantity instruction was “one spoon (table spoon) per person.” The first dinner was borderline too little as well. Quality was otherwise good. I initiated the trip; and approved a second group to join us; then when we showed up, there was a third group of 4 there in the hut, which we hadn’t heard about until that day. Matt never mentioned any adjustment to the hut fee we had paid and on which this group was coasting or possibly paid him. I write based on some experience. I have had several dozen days in the backcountry with guides (and dozens more in New England and other terrain for which they were not needed), across touring weeks in from huts to snow cave living, to heli-served; to heli and cat skiing across multiple countries and so have many guides and days of experience from which to compare. This was the first really uneven or bad experience. No question, bottom of the list of 7 ski touring guides I have skied with.


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