A steep, early-season snow climb up Jack Mountain's north side that has become a more popular alternative to the loose, rock-scrambling south side route described in older guidebooks.
Drive North Cascades Highway (SR-20) to the East Bank Trailhead near milepost 138. Follow the East Bank Trail about 8 miles to May Creek Campground, then leave the trail and climb roughly 3 miles, on terrain that turns steep and brushy, to the toe of the Nohokomeen Glacier. Camp there or continue to the base of the headwall, with campsites available along the way. Rope up for glacier travel across the Nohokomeen Glacier, which is heavily crevassed below about 8,200 feet, to reach the base of the headwall. Pick a line up the headwall itself: roughly 700 vertical feet of snow reaching up to 60 degrees, getting steeper near the top, where a bergschrund can become an obstacle later in the season.
Descend the headwall and glacier by the ascent route; conditions that made the snow climbable on the way up (a firm, refrozen surface) matter just as much on the way down, so timing and turnaround decisions should account for softening snow later in the day.