20th Anniversary Peakbagging trip, Part 2: Great Northern Mountain

On the upper sections of the northwest ridge to Great Northern Mountain.

After our big day in the Swan, we spent a couple of nights in Bigfork, with a bluebird day in between on the shores of Flathead Lake. Even with the rest day, we were tired from our Swan adventure, so it was hard to motivate ourselves to follow through with our plan to climb Great Northern Mountain. But we did it. The drive from Bigfork to the trail head for Great Northern, which is just off of the north-side road along Hungry Horse Reservoir, takes about an hour. For directions to the trail head and also on the route to the summit, see the summitpost page for Great Northern. Great Northern is a fantastic climb, with a beautiful route and fantastic views into Glacier Park. It's a real grunt, however, with about 5000 feet of climbing in 4 miles. I highly recommend it. 

Finally, the day we climbed Great Northern was the day of our 20th wedding anniversary. Jen has been talking for a while about renewing our vows with a ceremony on the Dearborn River, but in an impromptu move, we decided instead to do it on the summit Great Norther Mountain. It was perfect and and we both came up with heartfelt and relevant vows in the moment. We recommitted to the vision we've held and developed through the years: commitment to the kids and to each other, support of growth and change in the other, choosing not to live in fear, making choices with the long game in mind, and last-but-not-least, enjoying regular adventure together.

Needless to say, it was an unforgettable day.

Jen resting on the ascent with the first views of Great Northern.

Heading for the northwest ridge.

Early sections of the ridge.

The view into Glacier were awesome: that's Mount Jackson on the far left and Mount Stimson in the middle.

Further along the ridge.

More views into the Park: Mount Stimson on the left and Mount St. Nicholas just to the left of Jen.

Things get more rugged as you get closer to the summit. That's Stanton Glacier.

This is the crux of the route, a bit of class 3 about 100 yards from the summit.

On the summit, looking southwest with Hungry Horse Reservoir below.

And looking southeast from the summit.

Another section with a bit of exposure.

Walking ridges.

Mount Stimson in the distance.

And a parting shot of Great Northern on the way down. What a day!