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Past Activity

Broken Top – NW Ridge Climb

  • Start date: 08/08/2026

  • Start time: 12:00 AM

  • End date: 08/08/2026

  • End time: 11:59 PM

Description:

Although not one of the Obsidians '10 Peaks' award peaks, Broken Top is an iconic central Oregon summit with spectacular views of the 3 Sisters. The climb starts at the Green Lakes Trailhead and follows the beautiful Fall Creek trail to Green Lakes. From there we take a steep, loose, rocky, class 2 climbers trail up to and along the NW ridge to a 'balcony' about 100' below the summit. At the 'balcony' we will don our harnesses and helmets and climb about 10-15 feet of vertical low 5th class rock, following a fixed rope, to an exposed class 2 ledge system that we follow south to the summit ridge. We do a U-turn and take the exposed and (in)famous 'Catwalk' to the final 20 foot class 3-4 scramble to the cozy summit (we will set up a fixed line for that). We descend the way we ascended, but with a rappel down the short vertical 5th class pitch to the 'balcony'. From there we will reverse our footsteps back to the trailhead. Water (filter or treat it) is available at Green Lakes and on the climbers trail. This is a long, hard day, typically 10-12 hours car-to-car.

We will meet at the Green Lakes trailhead at 5:00 AM and hike with headlamps for the first couple of miles. Although you may wish to drive from Eugene the same day, a more pleasant option offering more sleep, is to spend the night before at the trailhead or camped nearby. For those who wish to share transportation the suggested donation to drivers is $28.60.

Sign ups open June 25 (or so).

Photo by: Steve Davis

  • Event Leader: Steve Davis

  • Event Leader Phone: 832-527-1756

  • Event Leader Email: lunaripple1@gmail.com

  • Assistant Leader: Miranda Trieston

  • Event category: Climbs

  • Area Type: Mountain

  • Departure Location: See Trip Description

  • Rating: Difficult

  • Roundtrip total drive miles: 260

  • Season:

  • Permits Required:

  • Event Status: Passed

  • Supplies and Equipment Required: Light hiking boots or approach shoes, wool or synthetic clothing for all weather conditions (no cotton), harness, helmet, 2 locking carabiners, PAS, 2 prusiks, autoblock, ATC or similar, sun protection, 2-3 liters fluids (water, electrolytes), food and snacks for a long day, personal 1st aid kit and any necessary medications, Obsidians 10 essentials.

  • participant prerequisites: Participants must be in excellent physical condition and capable of sustaining 4-6 hours of uphill travel. Rock climbing skills are required, including knowing how to follow a fixed line with a prusik and how to rappel. Though they are non-technical in nature, there is significant exposure on the class 2 ledge system and the 'Catwalk'.

  • Conditions:

  • Total Distance: 12.5 miles

  • Member Fees: —

  • Elevation Gain: 3700 feet

  • Non-Member Fees: —

  • Committee: Climbs

  • Junior member fees: —

Trip Report

Under the glimmer of the Milky Way, we began our headlamp hike up the Green Lakes trail to the climb up the Northwest Ridge of Broken Top. Once on the ridge, we scrambled up the climbers trail to the balcony at the base of the short technical climb. After donning helmets and harnesses we followed the fixed rope over the vertical step to the start of the scramble and narrow ledge traverse to the infamous 'Catwalk'. We each successfully traversed the Catwalk, mindful of the gaping void to the right, to the base of the final summit scramble. A fixed rope was set up and we all reached the summit on a gorgeous, windless, bluebird day. Despite the swarm of flying ants that kept us fidgety, we all admired the stunning, crystal clear view from Hood in the north to Thielsen in the south. We descended and recrossed the Catwalk, followed the narrow ledge and down-scramble to the top of the vertical technical section, and rappelled back the balcony. After a brief 'lunch' break we headed back down the Northwest Ridge and back to Green Lakes and the trailhead. A fantastic, enthusiastic, and very talkative team! Steve Davis (lead), Miranda Trieston (assistant lead), Hilary Harris, Isac Pederson, Lindsay Urquhart (all the way from WA!), Katie Reynolds, Jane Leng, Scott Miller.

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