Ice Climbing
Ice Climbing in the Rugged Beartooth Mountains
The Beartooth Mountains are relatively unknown in the climbing world.
Climbs in the Beartooths are extremely remote and yield long approaches, keeping many climbers away. However, those who brave the elements are rewarded with world-class climbing and breathtaking views. more info
The Beartooths make up the the southeastern portion of the Absaroka-Beartooth Range in south central Montana. Their jagged peaks rise to 12,000 feet with Granite Peak being the tallest in all of Montana at 12,799 feet. The Crow Indians refereed to these mountains as "Na piet say," meaning, "the bear's tooth," as evoked by the range's distinctive profile. The Beartooths are made up of metamorphic rocks that are up to 4 billion years old and were formed during the Archean period. Over the years, uplift, glaciation, and volcanism have affected the Beartooths. There are still many glaciers in existence in the Beartooths, however all of them are in recession.
Although Granite Peak is a tough mountain and the highest peak in Montana, it is not the most appealing to alpine climbers. Most climbers prefer the remote, out-of-the-way climbs. The Beartooths offer vertical rock walls, snowfields, glaciers, frozen waterfalls, and ice. Because the Beartooth Mountains are so vast, a dedicated climber could climb everyday of his life and not repeat a single route. However, as many climbs as there are in the Beartooths, there is little published about them.
Climber Chad Chadwick, of Billings, Montana, responsible for setting up a lot of climbing in the Beartooths in the 1960s and 70s, said that a group of climbers who climbed in the area, including renowned mountaineer Jack Tackle, agreed not to publish routes. As a result, the Beartooths saw little climbing traffic. With the absence of a guidebook, climbers had to conduct their own research before committing to a climb. The lack of published routes deterred "peak baggers" and attracted only dedicated climbers.
In his book, Selected Peaks of Greater Yellowstone, a Mountaineering and History Guide, Thomas Turiano writes that because climbers had to do their own homework and hone route-finding skills, they were rewarded with a greater sense of adventure and accomplishment than if they had merely looked the route up in a guidebook. He writes, "And without the allure of notoriety, their motives for climbing were assured to be for the pure love of the sport."
Other reasons climbers have tended to stay away from the Beartooths is because access is far away from a big city, and the weather can be extremely unpredictable. Approaches are also long, averaging at least
3 miles, making emergency rescues potentially difficult.
In 2004 Joe Josephson published Winter Dance Select Ice Climbs in Southern Montana and Northern Wyoming. In his book, Joesephson describes several mixed rock and ice climbs in the Beartooths, allowing climbers to gain more insight to these elusive mountains.
Josephson writes, "Not only did I want to create a guide that is motivating and gives the needed information to find the routes, but also one that excites the many, new enthusiasts about the early explorers of the sport whom have paved the way, and still influence this spectacular activity." Climbing in the Beartooths requires complete mind and body discipline as well as knowledge of science, history, and those who came before you.
66FOther pages you might find helpful:
Access Fund
Encouraging ice and rock climbers to be responsible while climbing in order to preserve climbing access.
Southwest Montana Climbers Coalition
Practice safe and responsible climbing to maintain quality ice climbing sites.
