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Suicide Peaks
by Greg Higgins, Scree 1/83
History Corner. Rising sheer above Rabbit Lake, the awesome West Faces of the twin Suicide Peaks have impressed many a fledging Alaskan mountaineer. At 5065 and 5005 feet, these summits are the lowest of the Skyline 5000 footers. They are separated from each other by a 4000 foot pass appropriately named Windy Gap.
The naming of these peaks dates to 1950, but initially it was erroneously applied to only the lower South summit; a correction has been submitted to USGS by the club. The name assumably indicates the pioneer attitude of climbing such mountains in the pre-climbing era of Alaska. The Suicides incorporate an area that gives rise to many creeks including Rabbit, McHugh, and Rainbow to the West, Falls Creek to the South, and branches of Indian Creek to the East. Many approaches are possible to the upper reaches. Most commonly used is the approach from Rabbit Lake up the huge chute on the north side of the South peak known as Hauser's Gully (William Hauser was the editor of "30 Hikes in Alaska"). Once in Windy Gap the North or South Peak is easily attained. At one time a scenic trail from Falls Creek at the ocean led to the South peak, but this has fallen into disrepair.
Early climbs on the Suicide is obscure due to the loss of the North's register. Vin Hoeman listed the 1st known ascent as July, 1961 by Carson, Gendwell, Godwin, and Hart. Vin himself climbed both peaks May 30, 1982 and left a C ration can register on the top (Scree: 4:9:33). The 1st reports of winter climbs in the Scree were in 1967; Lewis and Dave Meyers did the South Peak on Feb. 12 while Steve Stewart and Hans Van der Laan did the North on March 11 (9:6:7).
Both peaks now have pipe registers placed in 1980 by Valerie Herschberg, Kelly and myself. A trip to look for register remnants in Sept. 1980 by Tim, Pete Sennhauser, Ernie Borjan, and I yielded only an old Pepsi can.
This article completes the series that I have been doing on the Skyline 5000 foot peaks. By the time it is printed, I should be living out of state, but as most Club members know, the Chugach is near to my heart. I have enjoyed perusing the old records to prepare this series, and I hope it is of some value to those interested in the area.
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