Hiking Mount Tearse and Goldtip Peak near the Skagit Valley
Contents
Mount Tearse and Goldtip Peak Hike Information
Difficulty: Difficult
Distance: 10.90Km
Elevation Gain: 1,032m
Highest Elevation: 1,982m
Average Gradient: 18.94%
Effort/Reward Ratio: High / Moderate
Time Needed:
– Slow: 6 – 7 Hours
– Moderate: 5 – 6 Hours
– Fast: 4 – 5 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: ~April to November
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: None
Mount Tearse and Goldtip Peak Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°13’16.9″N 121°12’19.0″W
Disclaimer: Winter hiking (snowshoeing) involves significantly more risk than summer hiking. Hikers should be prepared with appropriate education, training and equipment for all possibilities, including but not limited to avalanches. A mistake such as going off trail, getting lost or injured can be far more dangerous in winter than summer. You are responsible for your own safety, and while I am happy to give my opinion on this website as to the avalanche risk of a specific hike, do not take this as fact and please do your own research. Everybody has different risk tolerances and mine might be different to yours.
Mount Tearse and Goldtip Peak Overview
Mount Tearse and Goldtip Peak are a duo of summits located slightly northeast of the Skagit Valley Provincial Park, accessed via the Crowsnest Highway through Manning Park. Typically ascended in spring, there is no trail to either of the mountains, so a solid snowpack helps to cover any bush on the steep forested approach.
The hike begins at the end of Tearse Creek FSR at a gate preventing further driving at around 1,100m. Both Sumallo River and Tearse Creek FSR are fairly well maintained and usually suitable for any SUV. Once parked, you’ll hike along the remainder of this FSR before a very steep ascent up to Tearse, before a simple ridgeline wander over to Goldtip. Parties can then either descend back the way they came, or take a slightly more direct descent down equally steep and rugged forest to the top of an old ski run that used to be operated by the long defunct Silvertip Mountain Resort.
Very few parties will ascend these peaks in general, and timing it for good conditions helps ensure a smooth trip. Without a good snowpack at lower elevations (while still allowing hikers to drive to the trailhead), this hike would be a very bushy climb. Summer ascents are therefore rare, but they’re not entirely unheard of. It is actually possible to connect a few other peaks in a horseshoe once you’ve gained the ridge, with the nearby Brown Peak and Merge Peak potentially being added. This would be a much longer and more demanding day, naturally.
With that said, early spring is the best time to visit, once the trailhead is accessible but with the snowline still low enough to cover as much bush as possible. This generally leaves a short window for ideal conditions, likely occurring from late March to early May, snowpack depending. If you don’t mind bushwhacking, of course, you can go whenever the road is snow free.
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Is Mount Tearse and Goldtip Peak worthwhile?
Goldtip Peak offers pretty rewarding views, particularly of the nearby Silvertip and Marmot Mountain. For a short trip (most people will take 5 – 6 hours) the reward is pretty nice, however the suffering to get there depends on how well you time it. If you leave it too late and the ascent is all bushwhacking, then you may question the worthiness of this one. If you time it well for a decent snowpack to cover all the bush, this is a pleasant and rewarding outing. Mount Tearse doesn’t offer views anywhere near as good as Goldtip, so do make sure to add Goldtip if you find yourself on Tearse questioning things.
How difficult is the hike to Mount Tearse and Goldtip Peak?
Tearse/Goldtip is a very steep affair. If you exclude the initial FSR walk (1.5km each way), this hike comes in at around 8km and 960m gain, for an average gradient of 24%. The climb up to Tearse is even steeper, with 750m gain over just 2km (37.5% gradient), most of which is bushwhacking if you don’t have a healthy snowpack. The descent off Goldtip is similarly steep and slow going, so all in all it’s quite a demanding hike. Once you’re on the ridge though, it’s smooth sailing with pleasant views.
Technically speaking the hike is largely straightforward, with the main challenge being the very steep and often slippery forest (some sections may require the use of hands). There isn’t really any scrambling and certainly no exposure.
Mount Tearse and Goldtip Peak Route Information
As noted, parking for Mount Tearse and Goldtip Peak is from the end of Tearse Creek FSR, which connects to the lower Sumallo River FSR. Both of these FSR’s are fairly graded, though Tearse does have a few steep and rocky sections which might only be advisable for SUV’s. You’ll reach a gate on the FSR, with the land beyond considered private property, likely due to the former Silvertip Ski Resort.
You can easily hike past the gate and there’s no signage indicating you shouldn’t, so just follow the FSR for around 1.5km (passing a few old chalets along the way) to the roads end, which is a very obvious open area. From here you’ll want to quickly check your GPX, but ultimately you’ll now enter the forest and begin ascending the steep western slopes of Mount Tearse. The initial forest will be pretty ugly, with plenty of blowdown and other niceties to deal with.
After a hundred meters or so of steep ascent the forest opens up somewhat, with less deadfall to navigate. The steep ascent never relents though, and in certain parts it’s steep enough to benefit from switchbacks and potentially even some minor veggie belaying. Of course, a healthy snowpack will make all this a lot easier, unfortunately I didn’t really benefit from that.
There’s not much to say about this forest climb other than just to get it over with as fast as you can. The GPX is a general guide, but you can easily pick your preferred path as you climb. At around 1,700m (550m of climbing later) you’ll break out of the dense forest and find yourself at the base of the climb up to Tearse, which you can now see directly ahead.
The ascent up to Tearse is even steeper than the forest. Most parties opt to gain the NE ridge before an easy plod to the summit, as this is slightly less steep than a direct attack on the summit. With a firm snowpack it’s easy enough travel nonetheless.
The summit views from Tearse are reasonably nice, but somewhat obscured by a band of trees blocking the main prize, Silvertip. After a quick rest you’ll probably want to continue along the ridge towards Goldtip Peak.
Almost immediately the views improve as you descend toward a low point between the peaks, with both Silvertip and Marmot offsetting impressive views. Travel is straightforward and you don’t lose that much elevation, so the reclimb up to Goldtip isn’t too demanding either. There’s a couple of steep rolls towards the summit, but all in all it’s a simple affair. The summit views from Goldtip will be considerably better, with largely unobstructed views in every direction. Silvertip will steal the show, but Marmot and Outram will also look pretty nice.
After you’re finished on Goldtip, you return back along the ridge towards Tearse, before dropping down towards the forest. There’s a fair bit of sidehilling here, and a few very steep spots that might make for challenging travel in poor snow conditions. Eventually you’ll reach the treeline, but the steep descent doesn’t ever really relent, and if anything it may even be steeper than the climb up to Tearse. There’s much to do now but to get it over with as fast as you can.
If you follow the GPX you might find some flagging towards the bottom of the descent, and eventually you’ll break out of the trees at the top of an old ski run. Thankfully the rest of the descent is simple, you just follow it down, passing by some of the old ski chalets, and it eventually reaches the FSR that you began on, leaving a simple walk out to the car.
When should I hike Mount Tearse and Goldtip Peak?
The ideal timing for this is when the snowline is high enough to reach the gate where you’ll park, but low enough that the bush is well covered. This is not that easy to time, and your best bet is to keep an eye on satellites to show the coverage on the road. Usually late March to early May will be the best window, but it varies depending on the winter snowpack. If you don’t mind bushwhacking, of course the whole summer works. In the winter the snowline will be well below the trailhead and this will be inaccessible.
Top Tip
Start early in the day to benefit from a firm snowpack. If the snow is soft and slick some of this hike will be challenging as it’s very steep.
Fit parties that go in the summer might want to consider the full horseshoe ridge, beginning at Tearse and ending at Brown Peak (or vice versa). This covers 4 peaks and is a much fuller outing. Most parties will split it in two though, with one day dedicated to Tearse/Goldtip and another dedicated to Brown/Rocktip.
