Northeast Buttress

A beautiful buttress guarded by a small glacier. The route has large sections of 4th class terrain and a few sections of low 5th. Rock quality is good, but the views and remoteness are the real allure to Mt. Goode.

Route: Cross the Goode Glacier, which may be heavily crevassed in late season. Cross the moat or bergschrund wherever it happens to be and climb easy 5th to get on the buttress. The first 5ish pitches up the buttress are 4th class, either solo or simulclimb. The rest are low 5th to 5.5 (generally trending easier), belay or simulclimb. Many accounts relate the nonexistent need for anything footwear but boots.

Descent: Three traversing raps from the summit (well-established rap stations) down to the ledge leading to Black Tooth Notch. Simul the ledge then made three more raps down into the SW couloir. A 60m rope is just barely long enough for one of the raps. Rest of the descent was a loose 3rd class gully. The old Goode climbers trail burned a few years ago but travel is easy enough if you just try to stay on the ridge crest.

Permit:

A bivy permit should be obtained within 24 hrs of the climb for Goode backcountry zone of North Cascades National Park. You can pick up the permit at Marblemount wilderness information center, Stehekin, or Methow Valley Ranger Station (Winthrop). Alternatively, there is an after-hour number posted outside of these offices that you can contact and get a permit number.

small alpine rack, rope.