Editing North Cascades National Park (section)

=== Mountaineering ===
[[File:Boston Peak 4091.JPG|thumb|Pyramidal Forbidden Peak (left) is one of the ''[[Fifty Classic Climbs of North America]]''. Quien Sabe Glacier shrouds the west face of Boston Peak (right) below extensive cliffs.|alt=Angular light-gray rocks in the foreground. Behind, a range of darker gray mountains with snow. The one at the right has a substantial glacier at its foot.]]
High quality climbing routes on the numerous cliffs, ice and other challenges make the park a favorite destination for many mountaineering enthusiasts.<ref name="climb">{{cite web|title=Climbing|url=https://www.nps.gov/noca/planyourvisit/climbing.htm|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=March 30, 2018}}</ref> While some peaks and cliffs can be accessed fairly easily, the most remote ones entail a multi-day excursion, challenging for even experienced mountaineers. The park has banned the installation of any new fixed anchors such as [[piton]]s, and only removable anchors such as [[Nut (climbing)|chocks]] and [[Spring-loaded camming device|cams]] are permitted. This [[clean climbing]] has been implemented to help protect the resource, since fixed point anchors deface the rock and are considered intrusive.<ref name="climb"/>

With much of the rock climbing and mountaineering done above the tree line, the effort to protect alpine ecosystems is of paramount importance. [[Leave No Trace]] policies are strictly enforced and encouraged, such as camping only on bare rock, using only a camp stove, storing food safely where animals cannot get to it, and carrying out or properly burying human waste as necessary.<ref>{{cite web|title=Planning a Climb|url=https://www.nps.gov/noca/planyourvisit/planning-a-climb.htm|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=March 30, 2018}}</ref> Mountaineering in the North Cascades was first popularized by [[Fred Beckey]]; at age 15 he was the first to reach the summit of [[Sinister Peak]] in 1938, in 1939 he was the first atop [[Mount Despair (Washington)|Mount Despair]], and the following year he was the first to climb [[Forbidden Peak]]. Beckey was the first to summit at least two dozen peaks in the North Cascades, and his exhaustive three-volume [[Cascade Alpine Guide]] books, first published in the early 1970s, have been called the "Beckey Bible".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Harrison|title=Fred Beckey, mountaineer who scaled untrodden peaks, dies at 94|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/fred-beckey-dirtbag-mountaineer-who-scaled-untrodden-peaks-dies-at-94/2017/10/31/468afb20-be43-11e7-8444-a0d4f04b89eb_story.html|access-date=April 5, 2018|newspaper=Washington Post|date=October 31, 2017}}{{subscription required}}</ref>