home

map

list

articles

Montana Mountain Distance: 15 km Elevation Gain: 853 m (2799 ft) Time: 5.5 hours

Date Added: July 3, 2011 Last Update: July 3, 2011 Winter:

The Montana plateau is a great area to explore, and Montana Mountain is the highest peak on the Montana massif. It isn't a difficult hike, but you need a vehicle with a little bit of clearance (even a car that doesn't sit too low is fine). The entire hike is above the tree line and the views are always pleasant. The view from the summit and the ridge are fantastic, opening up an ocean of mountain tops in all directions.

Download GPS Data for this trail
View Fullscreen Map



From Carcross, drive south across the bridge and take your first right. Drive to the end of the road and make a left up a gravel road. Continue straight up, you're on the Montana Mountain road. The lower section is the worst, so if you have enough clearance to get up the first couple of kilometers, you will be fine. Vehicles with high clearance are able to drive 2 kms further than vehicles with low clearance.

If you don't have high clearance, park after 8 km where a creek washes out half the road. If you have high clearance, you can continue another 2 km up.

Note: About 1 km before the first washout (roughly 7 km up the road) there is a road to the left (marked by some stones and a square post). With high clearance, you can take this road and supposedly avoid the washout altogether.

At this point, no matter what type of vehicle you have, you have to park. There is a landslide at 10 km that is impassable, and this will be considered the trailhead.



From the trailhead at 10 km up the road, you will have to cross the landslide. The landslide cuts across at a fairly steep angle and the small rocks are loose and will slide down as you walk across, but it is not overly difficult. You can walk up and around the landslide through the bushes, but this will take a little longer and the bank is steep. At the far end of the landslide, it is easiest to head down to the stream that cuts through and walk up the stream back to the road.

Continue walking up the road for another 2.5 km where you will reach a fork in the road and come to an open plateau. Montana Mountain is directly in front of you. Take the road to the right and either follow it as it winds it's way to the mountain, or walk across the plateau and intersect the road.

After about 2 kms you have a choice of how to climb up the mountain. You can either take the ridge on the far right and walk along the long ridge to the summit, or you can walk straight ahead and climb up the couloir to the saddle between the ridge and the summit. Both options are fairly easy, the ridge being a longer scenic route and the couloir a more direct route. If there is snow in the couloir, it can be easier than walking up scree rock on the ridge (and you can slide down it on the descent). If you can't decide, then do a loop by going up one way and coming down the other.

To get to the couloir, walk up the road towards the ridge to your left (this ridge has a formidable black, rocky knob on it). There is a small tarn below the ridge cirque. The couloir is straight up from this alpine tarn. If there is still snow in the couloir, cut up it at an angle on the first steep section, and then just walk straight up to the saddle below the summit. It is a quick scramble up to the summit from the saddle.

If you want to walk along the ridge, follow the road leading to the right-most ridge. Once on the top you can easily walk along it (and the worn-out sheep trail) towards the saddle below the summit.

From the summit, you get a 360 degree view of the area. You can see Grey Mountain near Whitehorse, Mount Skukum on the Annie Lake road, Bennett Lake, Tutshi Lake, Tagish Lake, and all the way down the White Pass and Chilkoot area.

There is a repeater station further down on the Montana ridge which you can walk to if you wish (note that the repeater is not on the true summit). The mountain behind Montana (south-east) with the steep rock face is Mount Matheson. Looking back towards Carcross (north) slightly to the left (north-east) is Brute Mountain. The bump slightly to the right (north-west) in the same direction is Sugarloaf Hill.

Have these directions changed? We invite you to let us know.


View Larger Map

Comments / Trip Reports

Feel free to Contact Us with any questions, suggestions, or corrections!
Terms & Conditions