Mount Roosevelt WA
July 15th, 2025
Hi, we're the Mountain Goats (Terrence), and today my dad and I summited Mount Roosevelt. I've always wondered why Roosevelt is so seldom visited, as it's off the extremely popular Snow Lake trail. We wanted to get an early start to beat the crowds, and because I have work tonight. We left the trailhead, making quick time to Snow Lake before heading to Gem Lake. Mount Roosevelt looms over the far end of Snow Lake, creating a stunning reflection.
Snow Lake
Heading up
Gotta love the Snoqualmie Pass Peaks
The trail winds around Snow Lake before ascending towards Gem Lake. You're greeted with stunning views of the Alpine Lake Peaks (Thompson, Price, Big Snow, etc.). Five miles in, we reached Gem Lake, and we immediately turned off the main trail and onto the Mount Roosevelt climbers' trail, which heads Southwest. The trail quickly gains 100 feet before flattening out as you walk along the top of a ridge towards Roosevelt. After a quarter mile of this, the trail begins to steepen as you head through trees and brush. The trail here is still relatively easy to navigate, and we didn't have any problems.
Up we go
Getting higher
Scrambling section
This changed around 5,400 feet. The trail becomes quite steep and hard to follow as you pass through hemlock and rocky terrain. Don't slip here; once above this section, the trail gets easier as you climb above a rock outcrop before traversing towards the true summit of Mount Roosevelt. If you're on route, you should be right under the summit block at 5,600 feet, and the trail should be heading Southwest. Follow the trail as it steeply ascends through a mini scree field before you get on more solid rock mixed with trees. Overall, this section was fairly easy, some class 2+ stuff with maybe a class 3 move (maybe?). We simply followed the trail, and before we knew it, we were on the summit. Kaleetan and Chair sit right there dominating the skyline. Glacier, Baker, and Ranier, along with all the Alpine Lake and Mountain Loop Peaks, are visible, making the climb well worth it.
Just before the summit
SUMMIT
The descent proved to be quite a bit more difficult than the ascent; we ended up losing the trail more heading down. Still nothing too difficult besides some steep terrain and plenty of tree-repelling.
Overall, with ideal conditions (dry everything), this climb is fairly basic. Some steep class 2+ stuff with a few don't fall areas, but nothing that I would consider real Class 3 or 4. We ran into 120 people from Snow Lake to the trailhead, so I would highly recommend doing this climb on a weekday, as I wouldn't want to imagine the traffic on a weekend.
Hello bro
Final Stats: 11.5 Miles - 3,350 Elev Gain - 8 Hours Car to Car
