On September 2, 2024, Devin Wilson and I flew into the gravel strip below the north ridge of Mt. Hayes at the junction of the two main branches of the Hayes Glacier. 

We had bigger plans for the trip, but our weather window was closing early. We set our sights on an objective that seemed attainable with weather we had: Peak A-112 (Peak 10,515’; 63.64761, -146.58725). [Editor’s Note: The “A” in “A-112” presumably denotes Alaska Range, and the name stems from an unpublished guidebook to Alaska’s mountains written in the 1960s by Vin Hoeman.] This beautiful peak was first climbed by Ken Irving and Dan Solie in 1975, starting from the West Prong Glacier to the south. It is directly connected to the east ridge of Mt. Hayes and is the highest summit on the chain running east off Hayes. 

That day we hiked across the rock-covered glacier (two hours or so) to a grassy camp with fresh running water at 5,000 feet on the north side of the mountain. The camp is located west of and about 1,700 feet below a prominent col (6,700 feet) on the north ridge of Peak A-112. 

On September 3, we woke to northern lights dancing overhead and left camp with small packs about an hour before sunrise in perfect temps and clear skies. We began by ascending loose rocks and then snow slopes toward the prominent col, which we reached around sunrise. From the col it was 3,800 feet to the summit.

The north ridge has two sections. The first is narrower, with a very steep west face to one side and a friendlier east face. It winds gently in classic Alaska fashion and has easy mixed steps (4th/low 5th class). With more snow, I imagine these steps would be buried and the ridge corniced. The ridge begins to broaden where it meets the glacier covering the upper mountain, somewhere around 8,000 feet. 

On the glacier, there were very few crevasses and generally icy conditions on low-angle slopes (calf burn!). The reds, oranges, and yellows of the autumn tundra painted the land far below. We made it to the summit at 1 p.m. and enjoyed an unbelievable up-close view of Mt. Hayes, which had building winds. The descent was simple and fast, with great snow conditions.

This is an accessible and beautiful mountaineering route in the Alaska Range with big views and a prominent ridge. In a more popular mountain range, this would surely be a classic outing.

—Benjamin Lieber