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Mount Pugh Rock Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Routes in Mount Pugh

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Pika Slab T 5.0 2- 4 I 6 MM 1c R

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Elevation:	6,594 ft	2,010 m
GPS:	48.14309, -121.37432 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	33 total · 12/month
Shared By:	Aldous William Eaton on Dec 23, 2025
Admins:	Jon Nelson, Zachary Winters, Mitchell McAuslan Page Updates (admin only)

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Description

Mount Pugh aka Da Klagwats is the impressive peak in line with White Chuck Mtn to the north and Sloan Peak to the south. At 7208' with 2818' of prominence (ranked 61st in Washington) it offers outstanding summit views of the surrounding North Cascades. The name is for John Pugh, who settled at the base in 1891. The first recorded ascent was by Nels Bruseth in 1916. He maintained a summit tent as a lookout station. According to local legend, Bruseth courted Beate Staff Falk by descending the mountain at least once a week to take her to the town's dance hall. Some stories say he'd run down the mountain after his shift returning to the summit by morning. The two married on May 10, 1921 and had 2 children. In 1918-19 Harry Bedal and Nels Skaar put in an incredible amount of work creating the amazing trail still used today by blasting it along the knife edged NW Ridge and steep exposed rock above. Hikers owe them a huge thanks for their efforts. One of the longest and most beautiful chipped routes in the Cascades. This was done to support building a lookout structure which was completed September 1919.

Getting There

Take Forest Service Road 2095 off Mountain Loop Highway. This is a narrow unpaved one lane road with very few pullouts. The trailhead is at the second switchback (1.5 miles up road) with very limited parking. If you need to you can drive up to the next switchback to turn around assuming no one has blocked it. Trailhead elevation is only 1900'. Follow Mt Pugh Trail #644. Go by Lake Metam at 1.8 miles and continue to Stujack Pass at 4.6 miles (5700'). From here the trail is scenic and exposed along the crest of the NW Ridge to a steep rock step (class 2). At the top of the step the trail stays just below the crest through heather slopes. There's an abundance of little crags in this area all the way to the summit. Pika Slab is in this area immediately above the trail. See picture for exact location. There's also some fun exposed low 5th under the old lookout platform on the east.