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Rock Climbing the Pintlers and the Flints

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Rock climbing in Montana's backcountry, accessible from Anaconda, MT. Pintler's Portal Hostel
Rock climbing in Montana's backcountry. Photo credit: Tyler Cook.


Where is my favorite place to climb? Remote Montana. Backcountry lands where few people travel. Ideally a ways from any roads or trails. Cliffs and faces that perhaps nobody has climbed, or at least not published. The Anaconda area has a plethora of these. It also hosts some good roadside or short hike venues to hone your skills while forgoing the crowds often experienced at more populated areas.


While Montana has many mountain ranges that I absolutely adore--the Beartooths, Glacier, the Bitterroots, to name a few--it’s the mountains close to home where I’ve dedicated a lot of my time exploring and finding engaging stuff to climb. 






Anaconda is surrounded by two mountain ranges, both a bit different from one another. The Anaconda range, aka the Pintlers, lie to the south and the Flint Creek range, aka the Flints, lie to the north.


Rock climbing in Lost Creek Canyonm, Anaconda Montana
Climbing in Lost Creek Canyon during a dry winter. Photo Credit: Tyler Cook


Rock climibing in Montana
High up on the Lunar Headwall. Photo Credit: Tyler Cook

The Pintlers are a mountain range with lots of high country, beautiful mountain lakes and predominantly Wilderness. From a rock climbing perspective, the range is primarily comprised of chossy sedimentary rock of poor quality. This isn’t the most appealing for grabbing and pulling yourself up, nor is it ideal for placing the protection needed for safely ascending. The rock can be quite loose.  There is a bit of igneous rock on the eastern side of the range in the Ten Mile, Twelve Mile, and Sullivan drainages that offers some good climbing. Maloney Basin also hosts some decent walls of higher quality sedimentary rock in a very aesthetic area. The rest of the range is more reserved for scrambling or winter/spring climbing when the rock is glued together with ice and snow (this subject coming in a subsequent blog).

Man hanging from rock cliff against blue sky.
Sweet days of summer are hard to beat. Photo Credit: Tyler Cook.

The Flints are a different animal. This mountain range is positioned between the communities of Anaconda, Deer Lodge, and Philipsburg. It has a bit more of man's foot print on it, including many old roads, dammed lakes, and old mines and cabins. It can lack the wilderness feel offered from the range across the valley, but most of the time I find it quiet and secluded as well. This range offers something heavily valued by climbers--granite. Some beautiful granite at that. From the roadside access of Lost Creek canyon to the alpine walls in the remote Crater, it’s got a bit of everything. It's got many backcountry crags spread throughout it’s beautiful forests, heavily valued by climbers--granite. Some beautiful granite at that. From the roadside access of Lost Creek canyon to the alpine walls in the remote Crater, it’s got a bit of everything. It's got many backcountry crags spread throughout it’s beautiful forests.


When it comes to roadside climbing, there are more popular accessible crags nearby–head east to the Boulder Batholith, south to Maiden Rock and the Humbugs, or west to Rattler Gulch and the Bitterroot–but there are a few quieter worthy areas closer by. Lost Creek State Park is premium roadside climbing venue in the area offering bouldering, sport, traditional, and multi-pitch climbs; a bit of everything. It’s a great place to prepare for bigger objectives in the mountains. Other reasonably accessed areas include Stuckey Ridge, East Fork Reservoir, and Skalkahoe Pass.


Backcountry rock climbing and crack systems, Montana
Beautiful backcountry crack systems allow for traditional ascents. Photo credit: Tyler Cook


Finger cracks splitting white granite slabs
Finger cracks splitting white granite slabs on the route Bone Tomahawk. Photo Credit: Tyler cook.

I find the best climbing venues in the area are in the backcountry. Most of these require anywhere from a 2 to 10 mile approach, and many are more enjoyable with some camping. Getting to fall asleep and wake up out there adds to the experience. The best backcountry trips often involve some hardship. Some inclement weather, fording some water, some type two stuff. Combine that with an approach and some camping and it results in a memorable trip into the backcountry. That kind of stuff is not for everyone, but I find some enjoyment in it. Not just awesome climbing, there has to be some adventure with it.

Alpine Rock Climbing
Alpine rock climbing in Wall Street. Photo Credit: Tyler Cook.




The rock climbing season here can be either short or long depending on your tolerance for cold and inclement weather. Spring typically gets a lot of precipitation and is still quite snowy in the mountains. This season also produces many ticks in the lower elevation areas and I usually avoid them during this season, because well ... I hate ticks. It is a get up higher or travel a bit further out of the area season. Summer is great for all areas. It is typically the best window for the alpine rock routes and offers more enjoyable camping in the backcountry settings. It can be a short season here. Fall is also great for all areas, especially during a dry fall. The occasional stormy fall seasons can shorten the backcountry climbing season. Winter can be one of the best rock climbing seasons on the south facing cliffs at lower to moderate elevations when the temperatures are plus 35 °F and the rock is dry. These days can be infrequent but are good to take advantage when they do transpire. There is just some ambience about it that is difficult to describe.




Man hanging from rock cliff against blue sky
Working a project on a bluebird winter day. Days like this are exceptional. Photo Credit: Tyler cook

Hand cracks on golden granite
Stellar hand cracks on golden granite – pitch three of Basket Full of Berries. Photo Credit: Tyler Cook.
Alpine rock climbing Anaconda, MT - Pintler's Portal Hostel
Alpine rock climbing on the route Dark Side of the Moon. Photo Credit: Tyler Cook.
Rock climbing near Anaconda - Pintler's Portal Hostel.
High above Lost Creek on a beautiful summer morning. Photo Credit: Tyler Cook.
Climbing a rock face near Anaconda, MT - Pintler's Portal Hostel
Even higher above Lost Creek on a beautiful summer morning. Photo Credit: Tyler Cook

Rock climbing in the Montana backcountry.
Many fun crack climbs in the local backcountry. Photo Credit: Tyler Cook
Tyler Cook is a rock climber, ice climber, backcountry skier, and all around adventurer based out of Anaconda, MT.
Watch for future blogs about ice climbing and other particularly unique outdoor adventures.

Adventure Starts Here - Pintler's Portal Hostel, Anaconda, MT
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Guest
May 16, 2024

What's with the useless bolt ladder to nowhere? So much for conscientious climbers.

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