Big new mixed climb on Mount Providence in Alaska by Andres Marin, Tad McCrea, Anna Pfaff

On April 25–27, 2025, Andres Marin, Tad McCrea, and I completed a long-dreamed new route on the south face of Mount Providence (11,200 ft) in the Alaska Range: Journey Through the Castle of Providence (1,000 meters, WI4 M5 5.10, steep snow). It follows the most direct route to the summit. This line had captured our imagination since first sight, and after a 2024 attempt with Thomas Burkowski that was stopped just below the summit by bad weather, we were determined to return.

Mount Providence rises in an isolated corner of the Central Alaska Range, far from the spotlight of Denali or Huntington. Its south face is a striking sweep of steep snowfields, ice ribbons, and compact granite walls, topped by sharp, corniced ridges. We first spotted the line from the Thunder Glacier located on the southwest fork of the Tokasitna Glacier. We saw a possible line weaving right up the center of the South Face. The climb is a little bit of everything ice, rock, mixed, and steep snow.

After a stretch of inclement weather, we were lucky to catch a narrow window and flew into the range. Conditions on the face were better than we could have hoped. Good ice, solid rock, and connected features. The lower half climbed through steep snowfields, ice , and mixed terrain, eventually leading to a rock headwall lined with huecos and chicken heads. Above, steep snow slopes and an exposed, corniced ridge finally brought us to the seldom touched summit. The line meets up with the Ramsden route on the summit ridge which was the first documented route on the mountain.

Standing on top of Providence felt like touching something beyond the physical. The name itself, "Providence", speaks to fate or maybe the unseen hand that guides us through challenges. For us, this climb became a two-year test of patience, vision, and commitment.

by Anna Pfaff