Trip Reports

On Wednesday, September 30, Bob F. and I climbed Broken Top, just southeast of the South Sister in Deschutes County. Broken Top is an extinct Pleistocene stratovolcano that last erupted about 100,000 years ago. It has been greatly eroded during subsequent ice ages and has steep ridges of resistant but dubious rock. Broken Top still possesses two diminished glaciers, the Bend Glacier on the northern slopes and the Crook Glacier in the southern cirque. It is the 23rd highest peak in Oregon and the 56th most prominent.

This was my fourth climb of Broken Top, my last climb in August of 2003. Bob had only climbed it once before, when he was in middle school in 1971. It is interesting how distorted memories become after the passing years. Clearly remembered landmarks on routes may not exist, unexpected ones appear, or easily climbed pitches seem much harder on subsequent visits. It was time to return for both of us.

On Sunday, August 4, I hiked and scrambled up Broken Top South Peak in Central Oregon’s Cascade Range. This is the obvious, but not officially named peak 0.34 mile south of the actual summit of Broken Top. It has 454 feet of clean prominence and 9094 feet of elevation. It is most easily accessible from the Broken Top Trailhead which requires a high clearance vehicle to reach.

The Broken Top Trailhead is very popular since it provides access to the scenic “No Name Lake” below the east face of Broken Top. The parking spaces at the trailhead were full when I arrived, but I found parking beside the road nearby.