Place Glacier : Gates Peak, Cirque Peak, Mount Gardener, Mounts Olds and Oleg

August 25, 2014   

Place Glacier Circumnavigation & Summit Traverse

• Distance: 33 km

• Elevation Gain: 4000 m cumulative

• Time: Just over 10 hours car to car

This was a full day circumnavigating Place Glacier and summiting all the major peaks around it: Gates Peak, Cirque Peak, Mount Gardener, Mount Olds, and Mount Oleg. An epic route with a serious amount of elevation and some technical glacier travel.

Important Safety Note

This route involves glacier travel with large, deep crevasses. I strongly do not recommend attempting this alone or without proper glacier travel training and equipment.

Route Details

I started early at the trailhead, crossing a creek on a log that was very slippery, caution is needed here as the log is overgrown and tricky to navigate without slipping.

From there, I kicked off with Gates Peak. The south face offers multiple route options, all fairly straightforward scrambling, though near the summit it turns into a bit of scree. Fun and fast going.

Next, I followed the connecting ridge to Cirque Peak, a great vantage point looking over the glacier.

After Cirque, it was time to cross Place Glacier itself on route to the saddle between Mount Olds and Mount Oleg. The glacier featured some big, deep crevasses, so moving carefully was essential. I took the west ridge route up to Olds, climbing a ledge on the north side to reach the summit.

Back at the col, I ascended Mount Oleg, then continued along the ridge to Mount Gardener before descending back down to the trail and returning to the car.