We were packing full climbing gear as we started out from the Sparks Lake trail head at 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning. The temperature was 30 degrees in the predawn stillness as we set a steady pace up the four mile 1000 foot gain pitch to Green Lakes. The chill morning air was frequently punctuated by roaring water falls along Fall Creek which the trail follows. Emerging from deep forests, the trail continues along the eastern margin of a fifty foot high moraine field scraped off South Sister by prehistoric glaciers.

From the Green Lakes plateau our route turned east onto Broken Top's lower slopes. Soon we were above timber line when the scenery turned into a magical slope strewn with fantastically shaped bolders. The angle steepened and we soon arrived at the saddle on the northwest ridge. The ice driven wind signalled the time to fully gear up.

Finding a rocky shelter from the wind, we put on additional pile jackets, shells top and bottom, gaiters, and harnesses. With ice axes in hand we started up the steep ridge leading toward the summit. The snow on the north side of the ridge was frozen and pure, untouched by any human foot prints. I "kicked steps" into the slope creating a stair case for my partner and a handfull of climbers who followed like ants far below us. Our course crossed first snow, then shattered slate piles, then forced us to climb verticle blocks before returning to glistening snow fields. And all the while the angle steepened as the pinnacle drew nearer.

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