Climbing Near Missoula, Montana

A group of Gneiss escarpments jutting out above the Clark Fork near Missoula, MT. Rock type isn't terrible and when the ice is frozen, it is fun. Great place to have fun after class on a weekday or practice. Follow the Kim Williams Trail from the M parking lot or its beginning. From the M Trailhead parking lot, enter the trail that goes along the chain link fence until you are on the Kim Williams trail. From there, walk down the trail and all the climbs will be on your right.

The climbing area on Mount Sentinel is located on the north side of the mountain, best accessed from the Hellgate ridge trail.  Hike up the Hellgate ridge trail for about .7 miles until you come to a flat-ish area ontop of a rock pile left of the trail. Venture off the the trail to the left and follow a faint trail down scree until you can see a game trail that cuts across the slope. Go right and follow that game trail until you see cairns, or you are on top of an obvious cliff. If there is a big cairn near what looks like a big drop off then you are at the right place. 

When the ice is “in”, Finley Creek is the spot for Missoula ice climbers. Located on the west side of the Rattlesnakes, on the Flathead Indian Reservation, climbing at Finley Creek requires the purchase of a Tribal Conservation Permit which must be in possession of the recreationist. As such, climbing here is a privilege and as guests on this land, please tread softly and be sure to remove any and all trash and litter. Tribal permits can be had in Missoula at Bob Ward’s or Cabela’s and in St. Ignatius at the Cenex. csktnrd.org/fwrc/recreation Warm winters and a lower elevation (around 5000 feet) aren’t friendly to ice formation making this location fickle for climbable ice. A half a dozen or so routes, some mixed, a couple multi pitch, make Finley a popular venue for the local ice climbing crew. Located between Evaro and Arlee, on the east side of highway 93 and on the west side of the Rattlesnakes in the East Finley Creek drainage. Around 5 miles south of Arlee, turn east on McClure Road and in less than a mile, take the right turn south to the signed “Finley Lakes” trail head. Hike up the drainage for around a half hour to get to the ice.