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Mount Thomson

Washington > Central-W Casca… > Western Alpine Lakes

Description

A very distinctive, pointed rock peak located between Burnt Boot and Gold creeks. It is very precipitous on all sides, making for some nice rock climbs; the most popular is the class 3-4 East Ridge. 

Getting There

Hike the PCT about 8.1 miles to Bumblebee Pass, passing Kendall Katwalk on the way. (Skip some of this mileage by beginning with the Commonwealth Creek trail.) Then cross a beautiful alpine basin to base of Mount Thompson. Previous to the Katwalk being constructed, approaches were made from Gold Creek and Alaska Lake, following an ~800-foot gully from the base of Alaska to where the PCT is now. This involves a long and unpleasant bushwhack around Alaska Lake; official trails are only maintained to the base of the Alaska outlet to Gold Creek, so this approach is not recommended. An alternative (but much longer) start would be from the other side of the PCT at Pete Lake, making a combination ascent of Chikamin or Huckleberry possible. (Parties combine Gold Creek-area ascents from both ends.)

Routes from Left to Right

5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b
 45
● West Ridge
Trad, Alpine 6 pitches
4th 1 2 I 2 M 1b
 6
● East Ridge
Trad, Alpine
Route Name Location Star Rating Difficulty Date
● West Ridge
 45
5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b Trad, Alpine 6 pitches
● East Ridge
 6
4th 1 2 I 2 M 1b Trad, Alpine

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Kendall Katwalk after a long foggy day on Mt Thompson
[Hide Photo] Kendall Katwalk after a long foggy day on Mt Thompson
Alaska Lake and Mt Thomson from the summit of Alta. Garfield way in the left background and Big Snow in the right
[Hide Photo] Alaska Lake and Mt Thomson from the summit of Alta. Garfield way in the left background and Big Snow in the right
The lower half of Mt Thompson, right before "Pulling the Adventure Card"
[Hide Photo] The lower half of Mt Thompson, right before "Pulling the Adventure Card"
Mt Thomson from the SW. Taken in May '21
[Hide Photo] Mt Thomson from the SW. Taken in May '21
Zach at the P4 belay on the slab
[Hide Photo] Zach at the P4 belay on the slab
Beautiful water source below Mt Thompson
[Hide Photo] Beautiful water source below Mt Thompson

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Andrew Shoe
Graham, Washington
[Hide Comment] It is actually 9 miles from thee TH to the base of the climb (unless you do some mild bushwhacking through to one of the alternate routes wich shaves off miles but imo doesnt shave off any time. Jun 24, 2015
Jennifer L
Seattle, WA
[Hide Comment] USGS maps show 'Mount Thomson', and many guidebooks (including Selected Climbs in the Cascades and Beckey's Cascade Alpine Guide) call this 'Mount Thompson.' Aug 22, 2015
Jon Nelson
Redmond, WA
[Hide Comment] Jennifer -- do you have the source of the name, or an older reference to it?

I get confused looking this peak up on the Internet, as it gets listed a lot as Thompson. I don't have the Beckey guide handy, but I'll change the posted name if Beckey says so..

Thanks- Aug 22, 2015
Leslie Otto
Seattle, WA
[Hide Comment] It's on the Green Trail Maps as Mount Thomson, just climbed it two days ago. I also read on summit post that it was named after R.H. Thomson, a seattle engineer. In the older versions of Fred Beckys Cascade Alpine Guide it was also mispelled but has since then been corrected. Aug 23, 2015
Jon Nelson
Redmond, WA
[Hide Comment] It's now corrected. Thanks a lot for the input. Aug 23, 2015
Jennifer L
Seattle, WA
[Hide Comment] Jon, I was mistaken. So, Leslie is right - USGS and Green Trails do show this peak as Thomson. But the latest Beckey CAG, Selected Climbs, and a few other guidebooks show this as Thompson. I've amended my comment above. How confusing! Aug 25, 2015
Jon Nelson
Redmond, WA
[Hide Comment] OK, so now you're just trying to get me confused. Well, I won't have it. It's going to be the Seattle engineer as the officially true story whether or not that's the way it really went down.

From Reginald H. Thomson's Wikipedia page:

"Reginald Heber Thomson (usually R.H. Thomson; 1856 – January 7, 1949) was a self-taught American civil engineer. He worked in Washington state, mainly in Seattle, where he became city engineer in 1892[1] and held the position for two decades. Alan J. Stein wrote that Thomson "probably did more than any other individual to change the face of Seattle" and was responsible for "virtually all of Seattle's infrastructure".[2]
Despite the scope of his work, no major portion of Seattle's infrastructure has ever carried Thomson's name. He was supposed to have been memorialized by the R.H. Thomson Expressway, proposed in 1960 but never built.[1][3]
Among his achievements were the railway route through Snoqualmie Pass,..."

So there we have the Snoqualmie Pass connection. And we all learned a little Seattle history...


R.H. Thomson, Seattle engineer (Wikipedia Commons)
Aug 25, 2015