North Nokhu Crags 7/25
4.2 mi RT, 2450' EVG
The Nokhu Crags are an impressive maze of volcanic spires sitting atop a very steep ridgeline. From Cameron Pass, Nokhu is seen at its most dramatic angle as it overlooks the Michigan River drainage. It seemed that for a long time there was ambiguity as to what the best way to climb the north summit was, and I believe there are still probably variations that could be made to the route. An excellent trip report was written by Brian Crim in 2013 that showed that there was an easy class 4 crux up a system of gullies that led to the summit. We often referred to the route pictures, and I would recommend bringing them along if you’re not interested in pioneering a new route. Thanks to David Johnson for organizing the trip and everyone for making the venture successful and enjoyable.
We started at the Lake Agnes Trailhead, where Nokhu is only 6/10ths of a mile away, but 2200 feet above. We bushwhacked from the parking lot to the Michigan Ditch road, which was part of the course for the Never Summer 100k that morning. As runners passed by it was interesting to see what kinds of gnarly, 62.2 mile conquering super-humans walk among us. After passing several avalanche gullies along the road, we chose one as a path to climb up to the ridge. This was probably the steepest terrain of the day, and the slightly dewed grasses made it slippery. At treeline we then climbed over some loose rock up to the ridge.
On the ridge, the north summit of Nokhu appeared above us. We followed the ridge over several bumps and saddles while picking up a faint “trail” where the normally loose scree was compacted by other travelers. The trail dropped us over a final, rocky outcropping and into a small notch where it was clear that we’d encounter more dangerous terrain beyond. We put on our helmets and dropped in elevation around some rock faces. There is a distinct rock spire at the base of the main gully entrance that makes for a good landmark to traverse to. The faint trail still existed up to the spire and occasional cairns helped. We resumed climbing up into a small bowl through a passage in the rocks that reminded me of pictures of the Iron Gates on Meeker.
At the base of the landmark spire, we then angled left up an obvious narrow gully. Helmets were definitely required gear, as the rocks from this point until the summit were very loose. The seven of us carefully climbed up the gully looking for the entrance to the second gully that would lead to the summit. Just below the tiny saddle at the top of the main gully we saw a cairn in the passage that we were looking for. The crux of the route is transitioning from the main gully into the side gully, but it can be simplified by taking a small ledge that hangs over the confluence of the gullies. I would classify the short moves as class 3+ for a tall person, class 4 for a short climber. From the cairn it was a quick scramble up to the small summit. Views of the Never Summers were excellent, and Snow Lake looked very scenic outlined by the jagged north ridge of the south summit. Clark Peak was very prominent, along with the entirety of North Park.
After lunch we began the descent, which was much more slow and systematic since it was easier to knock loose rocks down the gully as we descended. Navigating the crux wasn’t much more difficult than ascending it, and we were back at the landmark spire before long. Making our way back down the ridge, we decided to drop through a more direct avalanche chute back to the ditch road. At the ditch head gate, we stopped briefly to check out an old mine shaft(which had a geocache inside) before returning to the cars.
The Nokhu Crags are an impressive maze of volcanic spires sitting atop a very steep ridgeline. From Cameron Pass, Nokhu is seen at its most dramatic angle as it overlooks the Michigan River drainage. It seemed that for a long time there was ambiguity as to what the best way to climb the north summit was, and I believe there are still probably variations that could be made to the route. An excellent trip report was written by Brian Crim in 2013 that showed that there was an easy class 4 crux up a system of gullies that led to the summit. We often referred to the route pictures, and I would recommend bringing them along if you’re not interested in pioneering a new route. Thanks to David Johnson for organizing the trip and everyone for making the venture successful and enjoyable.
We started at the Lake Agnes Trailhead, where Nokhu is only 6/10ths of a mile away, but 2200 feet above. We bushwhacked from the parking lot to the Michigan Ditch road, which was part of the course for the Never Summer 100k that morning. As runners passed by it was interesting to see what kinds of gnarly, 62.2 mile conquering super-humans walk among us. After passing several avalanche gullies along the road, we chose one as a path to climb up to the ridge. This was probably the steepest terrain of the day, and the slightly dewed grasses made it slippery. At treeline we then climbed over some loose rock up to the ridge.
On the ridge, the north summit of Nokhu appeared above us. We followed the ridge over several bumps and saddles while picking up a faint “trail” where the normally loose scree was compacted by other travelers. The trail dropped us over a final, rocky outcropping and into a small notch where it was clear that we’d encounter more dangerous terrain beyond. We put on our helmets and dropped in elevation around some rock faces. There is a distinct rock spire at the base of the main gully entrance that makes for a good landmark to traverse to. The faint trail still existed up to the spire and occasional cairns helped. We resumed climbing up into a small bowl through a passage in the rocks that reminded me of pictures of the Iron Gates on Meeker.
At the base of the landmark spire, we then angled left up an obvious narrow gully. Helmets were definitely required gear, as the rocks from this point until the summit were very loose. The seven of us carefully climbed up the gully looking for the entrance to the second gully that would lead to the summit. Just below the tiny saddle at the top of the main gully we saw a cairn in the passage that we were looking for. The crux of the route is transitioning from the main gully into the side gully, but it can be simplified by taking a small ledge that hangs over the confluence of the gullies. I would classify the short moves as class 3+ for a tall person, class 4 for a short climber. From the cairn it was a quick scramble up to the small summit. Views of the Never Summers were excellent, and Snow Lake looked very scenic outlined by the jagged north ridge of the south summit. Clark Peak was very prominent, along with the entirety of North Park.
After lunch we began the descent, which was much more slow and systematic since it was easier to knock loose rocks down the gully as we descended. Navigating the crux wasn’t much more difficult than ascending it, and we were back at the landmark spire before long. Making our way back down the ridge, we decided to drop through a more direct avalanche chute back to the ditch road. At the ditch head gate, we stopped briefly to check out an old mine shaft(which had a geocache inside) before returning to the cars.
