Mountain·United States

Glacier Peak

3,213m

North Cascades

Walter Siegmund · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 3,213m
Prominence: 2,285m
Relief: 2,063mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 49°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: All yearSee month by month ↓
Summit: 48.1117°N, 121.1128°W

Stratovolcano in Washington

Glacier Peak is a mountain in the North Cascades (United States). Its summit stands 3,213 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 2,285 m.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,150 m), it rises 2,063 m. The steepest side is the south-west face: 31° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 49° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

Glacier Peak for skiers and climbers

Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.

Hiking & mountaineering

6.9/10

Difficulty to the top

Alpine climb

Most path sections around the top are T5 on the SAC hiking scale. Glaciers around the top.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

1.6/2.58 waymarked routes and 3 path sections nearby
0.0/1.50 huts and shelters
2.0/22,063 m of ascent from the valley
1.4/1.52,285 m of prominence
1.5/1.56 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
0.3/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

—

No ski runs within 12 km in OpenStreetMap.

How these scores are made

Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

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Snow

When there is snow on Glacier Peak

At the summit, snow all year round. Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Summit3,213 msnow all year round	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Halfway up2,182 msnow from October to August	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	No snow	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Foot of the mountain1,150 msnow from November to June	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month

Snow on the ground all month
Snow some of the time
No snow
This month

Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.

Summit weather

Glacier Peak, month by month

Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.

On an average August afternoon the summit reaches about 6 °C; on December nights it falls to about -20 °C. In 8 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In August the 0 °C line climbs to about 4,110 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, July is the driest month (33 mm) and November the wettest (284 mm).

0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-14	-19	1,040	267	21	2.2
February	-14	-20	1,110	174	18	4.0
March	-11	-18	1,450	215	21	4.3
April	-8	-15	2,010	136	19	6.0
May	-2	-11	2,980	103	17	7.2
June	2	-8	3,450	80	15	7.9
July	6	-5	4,100	33	9	10.9
August	6	-5	4,110	42	8	9.6
September	2	-8	3,530	86	11	7.3
October	-5	-12	2,500	197	17	4.4
November	-11	-16	1,510	284	21	2.3
December	-15	-20	940	256	21	1.8

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 1,114 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.

Relief

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. Heights drawn 2× taller than lengths, so the shape can be seen.

West – east

South – north

Steepness by direction

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around Glacier Peak

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

Glacier Peak seen from above (Sentinel-2)

N 5 km

Other summitsGlaciersCampsites

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

—mountain huts and shelters
—cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
—ski areas
8waymarked hiking routes
PCT - Washington Section K, Meadow Mountain Trail, Lost Creek Ridge Trail, White Chuck River Trail and 4 more
—via ferratas
—climbing crags and routes
19named glaciers
White River Glacier, Chocolate Glacier, Kennedy Glacier, Ptarmigan Glacier and 15 more
—viewpoints
7campsites
Glacier Gap Camp, Red Creek Camp, Glacier Peak Meadows Camp and 4 more
—hotels, B&Bs and chalets
—restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

3 path sections within 5 km, by SAC hiking scale (T1 easy walk … T6 difficult alpine).

T5 demanding alpine hiking

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OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

Glacier Peak (53847716972) — Martin Bravenboer · CC BY 2.0

Glacier Peak (53849040910) — Martin Bravenboer · CC BY 2.0

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
1991–2020 average	-14	-14	-11	-8	-2	2	6	6	2	-5	-11	-15
2020	−0.2	−0.4	−1.5	+0.6	+0.6	−1.6	−0.8	−0.8	+2.3	+0.2	−0.2	+1.2
2021	+0.4	−2.4	−1.1	+1.2	−0.2	+4.3	+1.8	−0.4	−0.2	−1.8	+0.4	−1.0
2022	+0.8	−0.3	+0.7	−2.6	−3.5	−0.2	+1.7	+3.2	+3.0	+6.1	−2.2	−1.4
2023	−0.3	−1.2	−1.7	−1.5	+3.7	+1.5	+1.1	+1.7	+0.5	+1.4	+0.6	+2.6
2024	−1.2	+0.8	+1.1	+0.7	−1.6	−0.6	+2.3	±0.0	+0.2	−1.8	−2.2	+1.0
2025	−0.7	−2.3	−0.8	+0.7	−0.8	+0.3	−1.6	±0.0	+0.9	−2.8	−0.8	+1.6

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

3,286 mMount Baker

United States90 km away

4,389 mMount Rainier

United States148 km away

2,432 mMount Olympus

United States197 km away

3,743 mMount Adams

United States214 km away

2,549 mMount St. Helens

United States228 km away

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q1529000) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profiles	Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Climate	NASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain	© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Images	EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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