After unsuccessful attempts on Wood, Spirit, and Villard, I was hungry, obstinate, and determined – I would not be denied a summit of one of Montana's 12,000-footers this time. No sir. Not on my watch. And to really spice things up, I went for this one alone.

I arrived at the Glacier Lake trailhead shortly after 8:00 AM on what the forecast suggested would be the last climbable day of the season. The mountains had received their first snowfall days prior, but a stretch of warm weather in the interim kept it all in check. The sky was grey but nonthreatening as I threw my pack on and started up the switchbacks. I encountered a friendly older couple on the trail and each party inquired about the other's itinerary. They were headed up to the lake for a leisurely day of fishing (smart!), and were clearly in awe of my plan to summit Mount Rearguard – a mountain they hadn't heard of, but one that piqued their interest upon learning of it. They wished me well, and I like to think that bestowed me with some good luck as I left the trail less than a mile in and began traveling cross-country. The fork is at 9200', and one would be liable to miss it without double-checking against a map. I found this to be a well-traveled boot path that approximated a legitimate trail up until just past the stream crossing, roughly between 9600' and 9800'. At this point, I bade the boot path – and solid ground – farewell and began my slog up to the Hellroaring Plateau.

The ascent up to the plateau was steep and rocky, but nothing too strenuous. Things flattened out around 10,600' as I stepped out of fall and into winter with 1-2 feet of fresh snow. It was an alpine winter wonderland, and I marveled at the snow-capped high peaks of the Beartooths surrounding me, the deep blue lakes beneath me, and the iconic Bear's Tooth spire ahead of me. After a short while, I encountered two hunters who seemed to be a father and daughter duo. They were super chipper and chatty, and I enjoyed hearing about their hunt. He had a sheep tag, but she had a far more coveted, once-in-a-lifetime goat tag. They sadly had little luck that day and were packing it up before heading west of the plateau to try again the next day. I took no joy in reporting that I had not seen a single animal, sheep, goat, or otherwise, that day. When I told them I was going for Rearguard, the dad beamed and called me "an animal" in the most complimentary way. That further emboldened me as I trudged higher up the plateau, the wind really starting to roar like hell (ha ha ha ba dum tiss) while the clouds began to part, revealing gorgeous patches of bright, blue sky.

By this point, I was moving rather slowly, my usual 20-minute-per-mile pace tripling as I carefully navigated the snowy – and sometimes invisibly icy – boulder fields. Boulder fields are rarely fun, and this one was no exception. I found it difficult to get into a solid rhythm, my frustration buoyed only by the sublime panoramic views. Around 11,000', the summit was in view, but I began to disagree with the beta in my GPX file. I instead deferred to my own route-finding instincts, which kept me on higher ground when faced with various up-and-down options and led me to a more vertical scramble than my beta had described. I did not care one bit about the snow and exposure when scrambling up that rock – I was gaining ground faster than I was when relying only on my feet. I had an ice axe and spikes, and I was feeling confident. The snow did, however, present some obstacles as I neared the summit block, and the final couple hundred or so feet involved some slower route-finding and scrambling. Finally, I found myself standing on the highest boulder on the summit. I looked down past the summit block at the rock towers I had read about – they were much more grand and mystifying in person. The word that comes to mind is "trippy." It looked like aliens had built them. Anyone who thinks those towers are man-made should try their hand at moving a single boulder, at 12,000 feet no less.

It was about 1:30 PM, a bit later than I had expected to top out, and the 40mph wind gusts ensured that it would be a short stay on the summit rather than the turkey-and-swiss sandwich picnic I had planned for myself. I did not feel like downclimbing, so I scoped out a gentler descent route more in line with my beta and began slowly descending (it was slippery!) while debating whether or not to drop down all the way to Moon Lake and make a loop rather than doing an out-and-back. I could see that the west ridge wasn't receiving much sun, and would likely be an icy and treacherous descent to Moon Lake. This made the decision quite easy. I oriented myself south and eventually found my own boot prints, following them back down the plateau. The sun was warming the snow, so post-holing was more of an issue, and I had little patience for it. Still, the descent was faster than the ascent, and I let out a "HELL YEAH!!!" when I saw the boot path near the stream. Relieved to be back on solid ground, I booked it back to my car, and FINALLY ate that sandwich for a well-deserved late lunch around 4:00 PM. I basked in my achievement for a few moments – I finally summited one of Montana's elusive 12,000-foot peaks! While Mount Rearguard isn't the most technical on the list, it's still no easy feat – especially in winter conditions – and I was proud of myself. I smiled, swapped out my soaking wet boots for tennis shoes, and drove back to Billings for the beer and bison burger I'd been dreaming of all day.

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