Holland Peak from Holland Lake with Matt: A Swan Range Ridge Walk

Matt with Holland Peak and Buck Peak (closer) in the afternoon after walking the ridge. 

The week after bagging McDonald Peak with Al, I took an overnight trip into the Swan Range with another wilderness brother, Matt Roscoe. Matt and I are both professors in the Math Department at UM, and Jen and I have been friends with he and his wife Monica since we first moved to Missoula. We started the hike at Holland Lake, made the long climb to Holland Lookout, and then followed the excellent ridge heading north along the Swan Front. At Rubble Lake, we dropped off the ridge and setup camp lakeside, then continued on to Holland Peak, skirting Buck Peak through the bowl to the west on the way. The last ridge up to Holland is unique, striking, and fun. I'd seen pictures and descriptions of it online and so was ready for it, but the fun class 3 trip up the north ridge, and down the south ridge, of Buck Peak on the way back was a fun surprise. There's also a couple of other spots of class 3-ish climbing on the other two 400 feet of prominence peaks (8485 and 8450) between Buck and Holland Lookout. All in all, the ridge between Holland Peak and Lookout is excellent and fun.       

The overnight was excellent, with fantastic and little-visited country and great company in Matt. It's remarkable that such a trip, which took only about 24 hours total, is so close to Missoula.

Walking the ridge in the misty morning

Matt and Holland Lake from the ridge.

Rubble Lake.

Heading on to Holland Peak in clouds.

Walking the bowl below Buck, on the way to Holland

Matt and Buck Peak

Me and Buck

The final, awesome ridge walk to the last slope to Holland Peak.

A bit further along.

Looking back south from near the summit.

Summit shot. Rumble Lake (right) and Buck Peak on the left with the rest of the Swan ridge stretching south.

Heading off of the summit.

Rumble Lake.

Back along the ridge. Matt's shorts matching the lichen nicely.

The north ridge of Buck.

Buck summit shot looking south.

Descending the south ridge of Buck.

Flowers and Buck Peak. 

Beautiful evening.

Descending to camp at the end of a great day.