Mountaineering · YDS Class 2

South Ridge (via Gardner Traverse)

High Point
8,957 ft
Permit Required

A self-issue wilderness permit for the Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness and a Northwest Forest Pass for trailhead parking are the applicable requirements; no quota or reservation system applies.

Route Description

The Okanogan County highpoint, almost always climbed together with neighboring Gardner Mountain in a single long weekend from the same trailhead and base camp.

Approach

Approach as for Gardner Mountain: drive to the Wolf Creek Trailhead and hike about 10.5 miles up the Wolf Creek Trail to a base camp at Gardner Meadows. From the low point between Gardner and North Gardner (reached either by summiting Gardner first, or by working into the bowl below Point 8,487 and crossing to that low point directly), traverse the connecting ridge to North Gardner. Taking the ridge crest directly (the "Gardner Traverse") involves some tricky scrambling; a safer variation drops to about 7,400 feet before regaining the ridge, staying at or below Class 2 the whole way.

Descent

Reverse the traverse back to the low point and down to Gardner Meadows, choosing the easier, lower variation if the ridge-crest line looks unappealing in current conditions.

Weather Forecast
5-Day Air Quality Forecast
Today
56
Moderate
Tomorrow
40
Good
Sun, Sep 27
41
Good
Mon, Sep 28
61
Moderate
Tue, Sep 29
59
Moderate
PM2.5 wildfire smoke threshold: 35 μg/m³ · Source: CAMS via Open-Meteo
7-Day Forecast
Today
❄️
Snow
34° / 19°
93%
❄ 0.3"
💨26
Tomorrow
🌧️
Drizzle
29° / 16°
18%
❄ 0.1"
💨24
Sun, Sep 27
☁️
Overcast
42° / 19°
💨10
Mon, Sep 28
☁️
Overcast
44° / 19°
7%
💨7
Tue, Sep 29
🌧️
Drizzle
36° / 25°
44%
💧0.05"
💨7
Wed, Sep 30
☁️
Overcast
36° / 17°
32%
💨7
Thu, Oct 1
🌤️
Partly Cloudy
34° / 15°
26%
💨8
Trip Reports
+ File a Report
No reports yet for this route.
Be the first to file a report