Mountaineering · YDS Class 3-4

Southeast Face

High Point
8,894 ft
Trailhead
Boston Basin Trailhead
3,199 ft elevation
Permit Required

An itinerary-based backcountry permit from the National Park Service is required for any overnight stay, including at Boston Basin. Permits cost $10 per person plus a $6 reservation fee; a portion of sites can be reserved in advance on recreation.gov, with the remainder available as walk-up permits. All permits for Cascade River Road trailheads, including Boston Basin, must be picked up in person at the Wilderness Information Center in Marblemount.

Route Description

A glacier-and-rock climb up Boston Peak from the same Boston Basin camp used for Sahale Peak, Sharkfin Tower and Forbidden Peak, finished on an exposed, loose ridge.

Approach

Approach as for Forbidden Peak and Sahale Peak: register in Marblemount, drive to the Boston Basin Trailhead, and hike the steep climbers' trail up the old mine road and into Boston Basin, camping around 6,200-6,400 feet. From camp, head toward the left (north) side of Sharkfin Tower and rope up for glacier travel around 6,700 feet. Make a rising traverse near the cliffs below Sharkfin to reach a flatter section of the Quien Sabe Glacier, then pick a line up its steeper upper section, avoiding crevasses. Later in the season it is usually easiest to traverse right to end-run the bergschrund before cutting back up and left to the Boston-Sahale col. Unrope at the col and follow the ridge toward Boston Peak. The ridge starts flat, then widens onto loose rock before steepening and narrowing to an exposed, knife-edge section. A short double-rope rappel from the ridge gains a col to the west, from which the final short scramble reaches the summit.

Descent

Reverse the ridge and glacier to Boston Basin camp; established rappel anchors are generally present on the rock walls along the ridge for the section that was rappelled on the way up.

Weather Forecast
⚠️
Air Quality: Moderate · AQI 67
PM2.5: 8.4 μg/m³ · Check conditions before travel
5-Day Air Quality Forecast
Today
109
Unhealthy
Tomorrow
52
Moderate
Sun, Sep 27
78
Moderate
Mon, Sep 28
83
Moderate
Tue, Sep 29
74
Moderate
PM2.5 wildfire smoke threshold: 35 μg/m³ · Source: CAMS via Open-Meteo
7-Day Forecast
Today
❄️
Snow
30° / 19°
91%
❄ 6.6"
💨27
Tomorrow
🌫️
Fog
26° / 17°
47%
💨19
Sun, Sep 27
☁️
Overcast
39° / 19°
💨11
Mon, Sep 28
🌧️
Drizzle
39° / 17°
18%
💨6
Tue, Sep 29
🌨️
Rain
28° / 24°
60%
💧0.59"
💨5
Wed, Sep 30
🌧️
Drizzle
32° / 15°
47%
💧0.01"
💨6
Thu, Oct 1
❄️
Snow Showers
28° / 14°
37%
❄ 0.2"
💨5
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