Sunbeam Peak
Elevation: 13,455 ft.
Prominence: 606 ft.
Isolation: 0.4 miles
Technical Difficulty: Class 3
Sunbeam Peak Guidebook
Introduction
On the other side of Backpackers Pass from Turret sits a friendly peak whose charming name fits its sunny disposition. Most people encounter Sunbeam as the vast wall of rock which catches the evening sunlight when viewed from camp at the end of the Glacier Trail. Backpackers on Blaurock Pass may also note the small but impressively steep Heap Steep Glacier hanging from its north face.
General Considerations
This peak is a good detour for people crossing Blaurock Pass if the group is comfortable with a bit of basic scrambling. Sunbeam Peak would make a good transition between the walk-up peaks and those with harder scrambling routes.
Route 1: Northeast Ridge – Class 3
This route starts from Blaurock Pass, and most of your time climbing this peak will be spent reaching the top of the pass. You can climb scree and talus up either side of Blaurock Pass, starting either from the Helen Glacier outwash plain in the North Fork of Bull Lake Creek or from the East Sentinel’s cirque where the Glacier Trail ends at the terminus of the Dinwoody moraine.
From Blaurock Pass, ascend a broad, low-angled, north-facing slope until the ridge narrows and turns climber’s right. From here, continue walking a short distance along the ridge (now trending westward). A short notch, about 10 feet deep, blocks the ridge crest and requires a few class 3 moves of downclimbing and scrambling over blocky terrain. The summit awaits just beyond the notch.
Route 2: South Ridge – Class 4
This route starts from Backpackers Pass and has mainly been used to enable a linkup of Turret, Sunbeam, and Febbas (the traverse has been done in both directions). To get to Backpackers Pass, either climb snow from the Helen Glacier, or cross the Dinwoody Moraine and clamber up the pass’s west-side scree.
From Backpackers Pass, the easiest route stays substantially below the ridge crest on the east side. A combination of scree gullies, broad ledges, and short rock steps provides a choose-your-own-adventure route to just below the summit. From the point where a large white dike cuts across the south face just below the top, head up to the right into more challenging terrain, where a couple very short chimneys separated by ledges deliver you to the summit.
Sunbeam Peak Map
Sunbeam Peak Panorama
Sunbeam Peak Photos
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- Sunbeam Peak (center) has a dramatic east ridge which rises above the North Fork of Bull Lake Creek (2016)
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- Sunbeam’s eastern rampart (right) and Turret (left, farther back) as seen while backpacking over Blaurock Pass (2016)
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- Sunbeam Peak’s north slopes above the crest of Blaurock Pass (2016)
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- Sunbeam’s north face harbors the Heap Steep Glacier (2016)
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- Sunbeam Peak (summit on left above Heap Steep Glacier) and the obscure Heap Steep and Speck Pinnacles as seen while descending Blaurock Pass into the upper Dinwoody (2016)
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- From left to right, Sunbeam Peak, Turret Peak, Mount Warren massif; view from the summit of Mount Koven (2020)
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- Sunbeam’s summit crest is visible in the center of the photo above and slightly behind the East Sentinel, a granite knob which guards the eastern flank of the upper Dinwoody Valley (2020)
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- Looking down to Sunbeam Peak from Turret (2020)
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- Approaching Sunbeam Peak after climbing Turret; Backpackers Pass (crest of pass visible here) separates the two peaks (2020)
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- Starting up Sunbeam’s south ridge from Backpackers Pass (2020)
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- A broad, angled ledge provides a way to skirt steep towers on Sunbeam’s south ridge (2020)
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- Hiking along the ledge leads to a scrambling section just to climber’s right of the ridge crest (2020)
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- Looking back down the broad ledge on Sunbeam Peak’s south ridge route; Mount Warren steals the show (2020)
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- Clamoring up loose junky rock somewhere on Sunbeam Peak’s south face (2020)
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- Looking back at part of my ascent route below the crest of Sunbeam’s south ridge (2020)
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- Occasional steeper obstacles require some scrambling (2020)
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- A cool balanced gendarme on Sunbeam’s south ridge (2020)
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- Nearing the final difficulties on the south ridge route just below Sunbeam Peak’s summit (2020)
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- This giant white rock dike marks the base of the summit pitch (2020)
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- Looking up the crux of Sunbeam’s south ridge route (2020)
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- Looking down the route after climbing the steep summit pitch (2020)
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- Summit of Sunbeam Peak (2020)
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- Gannett dominates the view of the Dinwoody region from the summit of Sunbeam Peak
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- Summit of Sunbeam Peak (2020)
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- Sunbeam Peak has an original summit register from 1961 (2020)
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- Leaving the summit of Sunbeam Peak (2020)
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- This notch in the northeast ridge is the crux of the standard route from Blaurock Pass and is the only section that requires scrambling on that route (2020)
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- Looking back to the summit block of Sunbeam from across the northeast ridge notch (2020)
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- Turret Peak, Mount Warren, and neighboring peaks as seen from Sunbeam Peak’s northeast ridge (2020)
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- Hiking down gentle rock and snow slopes on Sunbeam’s northeast ridge route (2020)
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- Looking back to Sunbeam Peak’s northeast ridge route from Blaurock Pass, exactly 4 years to the day after crossing this pass in 2016 (2020)
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- Sunbeam Peak’s full northeast ridge route is visible here from partway up Febbas (2020)
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- Sunbeam catches some evening sun beams as seen from camp in the upper Dinwoody (2020)
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- Sunset on the summit of Sunbeam Peak as viewed through the window the tent the night after my climb (2020)
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- Sunbeam rises above Backpackers Pass, the high saddle connecting it to Turret. I’ll climb the east ridge, which is foreshortened here but generally follows a line directly below the high point.
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- The ridge is short and sweet, and before long I make the final class 4 scramble to the top.
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- Summit view from Sunbeam Peak. Gannett steals the show, as usual.
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- I descend the northeast slopes of Sunbeam to Blaurock Pass, where I drop my pack and dash up Mount Febbas.
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- To close my loop and finish the day’s climbing, I need to descend 2,600 ft. into the Dinwoody Valley, then re-ascend 2,300 ft. to Miriam Peak. Here, I near the low point of the loop, around 10,800 ft.
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