The climb began with an early morning boat ride on the Lady of the Lake 50 miles up Lake Chelan to the primitive settlement of Stehekin. At Stehekin, one boards an old school bus that makes its way up and down a primitive road, dropping off and picking up climbers and hikers on the way. Tourists also take this bus up and down as a day trip to see the sights.

This was after the North Cascades Highway was open, but we did not consider using that access. Even so, the mountain is still relatively remote by the contiguous 48 states standards.