North America, United States, Alaska, Chilkat and Takhinsha Mountains

Publication Year: 1989.

Chilkat and Takhinsha Mountains. In June and July, Chuck Warren, Gil Dewart, Walt Price, Marty Mushkin, Ed Kerwin, Linda Bolte, George Barnett and I visited these mountains southwest of Haines. Following a helicopter ride up the Kicking Horse River and Garrison Glacier, we landed at 5500 feet at the head of the north branch of the Davidson Glacier, near the great wall at the southeast end of the Takhinsha Mountains and just west of P 6841 in the Chilkat Range. On the occasional days of good weather, we climbed several of the nearby peaks. Mushkin, Bolte and Barnett ascended the small peak north of camp on June 24 and the rest climbed it a few days later. The next day, at the southeast end of the Takhinsha Mountains we all made the ascent of P 6300, which has a 20-foot needle for a summit. On July 2, Bolte and Barnett climbed P 6243 by the west ridge. Two attempts were made on P 6841. On June 27, the entire party was on the west end of the north face where the snow meets the cliffs of the west ridge. The snow was unstable and the badly shattered rock too dangerous for a large party and so we abandoned the climb high on the face. A second attempt was made by Bolte and Barnett on June 30. Using ropes left from the previous try, they gained the summit ridge and went a short distance toward the lower summit. Deteriorating weather late in the day forced their retreat and retrieval of the fixed ropes. We moved camp to 2900 feet on the Garrison Glacier on July 3. Kerwin and Barnett climbed P 6710 northwest of camp on July 6. Except for the last few hundred feet, their route on the south side was a long snow climb.

Lawrence E. Nielsen