The weather was a bit iffy but we had the permit and a free day so we gave it a go. Broken Top Summit requires a hiking permit and sits in the beautiful Green Lakes Wilderness. It’s an easy 30 minute drive just outside of Bend. Broken Top is categorized as a volcano and as the name suggests, it is broken right in the middle of the summit creating this cool dual-summit appearance with a sketchy looking traverse in between them (this is not part of the standard summit route). 

We had previously done the hike up to Green Lakes which is a beautiful, forested hike and is super mellow all the way up to the lake. Broken Top Summit Trail continues past this point and totals about 12.5 miles and 3,700 feet of gain.

We started around 7:45 AM and quickly got up to Green Lakes. From here the trail gets significantly steeper as you make your way up to the ridgeline of Broken Top which starts just under 8,000 feet. The clouds, wind, and a wintery mix of dip and dots hail were rolling in as we ascended the ridgeline. The summit looks close but there is about 1,000 vertical feet from the start of the ridgeline and the terrain is a bit more difficult than what proceeded this section.

The trail is pretty obvious and the terrain doesn’t exceed class 2/2+ here. There is really only one way to go, and that is up. About 150 feet shy of the summit feet you reach the crux of the route. You make your way hard right and find a short 10-15 foot chimney to use to climb up to the next ledge. When you are looking right along this ledge, it is the second chimney crack, not the first. This is the hardest part of the day. A hard left at this point brings you to a short crack climb where climbers typically rope up. This probably rates at class 3 or 4. 

There is definitely some exposure on the ledges and you want to watch your footing. There are a couple of anchors placed at the top for climbers to rappel down. 

In total the hike took us 7.5 hours. You have amazing views of the prominent Three Sisters Peaks and their silhouettes (along with Broken Top) are pretty iconic and visible from the entire surrounding area.