Mountaineering · YDS Class 4

Southwest Couloir

Distance RT
14.0 mi
Gain
7,201 ft
High Point
9,219 ft
Permit Required

An itinerary-based backcountry permit from the National Park Service is required for any overnight stay. Permits cost $10 per person plus a $6 reservation fee, obtained via recreation.gov reservation or as a walk-up permit; the Goode cross-country zone is not one of the most heavily reserved zones but availability is not guaranteed on short notice. Confirm which office issues permits for a Stehekin-side start, since not all NPS permit offices handle every trailhead.

Route Description

The least technical way up the highest point in North Cascades National Park, reached via a remote approach from the Stehekin side rather than the more heavily climbed Northeast Buttress.

Approach

Access is via Lake Chelan: take the passenger ferry to Stehekin, then the seasonal shuttle bus (or a long walk) up the Stehekin Valley Road to the Park Creek Trailhead, around 2,300 feet. From the trailhead, the Park Creek Trail climbs steeply for its first stretch above a gorge where Park Creek meets the Stehekin River, then levels out through the Goode burn area for several fairly flat miles past Five Mile and Buckner camps. From the head of this basin, leave the maintained trail and follow a faint climbers' path up toward the south side of Goode, gaining several thousand feet to a high camp below the peak's south face. From camp, ascend to a notch that accesses the couloir system on the southwest side of the mountain. The couloir, first climbed in 1936 and still the least technical line on the peak, is a sustained gully climb with real exposure; parties emerging from its top cross toward Black Tooth Notch and the upper northeast face to reach the true summit, since the summit block itself involves further scrambling that can approach low Class 5 depending on the exact line taken.

Descent

Descend the climbing route, taking care in the couloir's loose rock; multiple tracks exist below the couloir exit and it is worth noting which one was used on the way up, since it is easy to end up on a harder line during the descent.

Weather Forecast
⚠️
Air Quality: Moderate · AQI 58
PM2.5: 9.6 μg/m³ · Check conditions before travel
5-Day Air Quality Forecast
Today
101
Unhealthy
Tomorrow
43
Good
Sun, Sep 27
73
Moderate
Mon, Sep 28
82
Moderate
Tue, Sep 29
74
Moderate
PM2.5 wildfire smoke threshold: 35 μg/m³ · Source: CAMS via Open-Meteo
7-Day Forecast
Today
❄️
Snow
31° / 17°
91%
❄ 1.9"
💨18
Tomorrow
❄️
Snow
27° / 16°
41%
❄ 1.2"
💨15
Sun, Sep 27
☁️
Overcast
39° / 17°
💨7
Mon, Sep 28
☁️
Overcast
39° / 16°
12%
💨6
Tue, Sep 29
🌨️
Rain
29° / 23°
58%
💧0.48"
💨6
Wed, Sep 30
🌧️
Drizzle
32° / 14°
41%
💧0.01"
💨6
Thu, Oct 1
🌫️
Fog
28° / 13°
40%
💨6
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