Broken Top 9,173′
Pacific Northwest
Total Time: 5:40
Distance: 12.0 miles
Elevation Gain: 3175′
Crux: Class 4
Trailhead: Broken Top Trailhead- pit toilet
After the biggest day of the trip—a single-push solo ascent of Mount Rainier—I was looking forward to an easier objective. I even let myself sleep in until 7 AM, practically noon by peakbagger standards. On the agenda was Broken Top, an eroded extinct volcano west of Bend. I wasn’t nearly as sore as I had expected, but I still welcomed the more modest objective, with only about one-third of the elevation gain of the previous day. After grabbing a quick breakfast and coffee, I headed out of town, passing Mount Bachelor before turning onto Forest Road 370.
Although most climbers approach Broken Top from the paved Green Lakes Trailhead, I opted for the rough road leading to the Broken Top Trailhead, saving several miles and roughly 1,000 feet of elevation gain. A handful of cars were already parked there, and after emptying the unnecessary gear from my pack, I started west on the well-defined trail. Winding through mixed forest and open volcanic meadows, the trail offered spectacular views into Broken Top’s heavily eroded caldera, where a small patch of lingering snow, the Crooks Glacier, clung to the basin below.
The standard route climbs the northwest ridge, and the trail gradually wrapped around the mountain’s southern flank, crossing a stream fed by the small glacier above before descending around Cayuse Crater and the southwest ridge. Rather than continue all the way to Green Lake to pick up the climber’s trail, I decided to cut cross-country across the western slopes, aiming directly for a notch in the northwest ridge and avoiding unnecessary elevation loss. While the open forest made travel straightforward, the steep volcanic soil was loose and tiring. After about thirty minutes of tedious climbing, I intersected the climber’s trail just below the ridgeline.
The wind hit me the moment I gained the ridge. I stopped long enough to throw on my wind jacket before continuing upward, staying on the sheltered north side whenever possible for brief reprieves from the gusts. It was also the first time all day I’d encountered other climbers—a pair descending and three additional parties making their way toward the summit. From the ridge, it took only about thirty minutes to climb the final 1,000 feet to the base of the summit rocks.
Like the other eroded Oregon volcanoes, including Three Fingered Jack and Mount Washington, Broken Top saves its crux for the final few hundred feet. Several options lead through the rock band guarding the summit. One traverses far left to find a class 3 weakness, though I’d heard it was both loose and exposed. Another cuts right, reportedly less exposed but still plagued by unstable rock. From reading other trip reports, the consensus seemed to favor a short, ten-foot crack that climbs directly up the prow. Although it required one or two fourth-class moves at the base, it had little exposure, solid rock, and straightforward moves that looked easy to reverse if needed.
A pair of climbers stood below the crux weighing their options when I arrived. After taking a quick look, I scrambled over to the crack. The climbing proved even easier than it had appeared, with large, positive holds lining the left side. After testing the rock, I climbed through the crux in about fifteen seconds. Above the lower rock band, loose class 2 terrain led to a narrowing catwalk that wrapped around the south side of the summit before cutting back north onto the summit ridge. From there, a short class 3 scramble led to the high point, less than three hours after leaving the trailhead despite this being my fourth volcano in five days.
The summit was one of the highlights of the trip. Directly below, Broken Top’s fractured caldera dropped away to the Crook Glacier, while nearly every major volcano in the central Oregon Cascades stretched across the horizon—the Three Sisters, Mount Washington, Three Fingered Jack, and Mount Jefferson. Wildfires continued to burn to the northeast, but fortunately the strong wind carried most of the smoke away from the mountain, leaving the views remarkably clear. It was too blustery to linger long, so after the obligatory summit photos, I began my descent.
Back at the catwalk, I found that the pair I’d seen below the crux had chosen the right-hand variation, which required an awkward mantle onto loose, sloping scree. Watching them, I was grateful for my decision to climb the crack instead. I downclimbed the same route just as another pair arrived. After watching me descend without issue, they followed my line and quickly climbed through the crux themselves, further validating my choice.
Back on the ridge, I took a short break out of the wind before continuing down. Although the western slopes had been tedious to climb, they looked perfect for a boot-ski descent. After working past the upper cliff bands, I left the ridge and stepped onto long stretches of loose volcanic sand, dropping more than 1,000 feet in just fifteen minutes.
By the time I reached the larger talus below, my shoes were full of sand. After emptying them, I traversed cross-country and rejoined the trail almost exactly where I had left it earlier that morning. From there it was an easy, mostly level four-mile hike back to the trailhead, taking about an hour and fifteen minutes for a total round-trip time of 5 hours and 40 minutes.
I climbed into the car and drove back to Bend, where I celebrated with barbecue at the Cross-Eyed Cricket before organizing my gear for one final objective—the last volcano of the trip before the flight home.
