When looking out at Heavens Peak from The Loop on the Going-to-the-Sun Road, one can’t help but feel a sense of awe and mystique.

While Heavens certainly isn’t the most prominent peak in Glacier National Park, it holds a sense of isolation and uncertainty. It’s frequently shrouded in fog, encompassed by almost impassible alder and devil's club on all sides. Heavens meta-sedimentary smooth stone slabs extend to the heavens, and its snow fields never quite melt out.

We recently obtained a permit for Arrow Lake, a remote backcountry campsite at the base of Heavens Peak. Our plan was to hike in, stay the night, climb the mountain the following morning then head out the next day. We took the Howe Ridge Trail, leading from the head of Lake McDonald winding itself around the base of Stanton Mou

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