The Kercher Glacier Classic
Mark your calendars: 21st Annual Classic- August 14-17, 2025
In 2005 a small group of Rocky Mountaineers had an idea to have one weekend every August where we would basecamp around Glacier National Park and have several hikes and climbs each day. In the evenings, meet back in camp and tell stories of the days’ adventures. Make new friends, reacquaint yourself with old ones. What began as a small gathering of eight attendees has since grown into the single biggest annual event that our club hosts! We have held it in various locations around the Park but have recently settled on private campgrounds in the St. Mary area due to the ability to easily reserve for a large group, as well as its proximity to a high concentration of relatively easily accessible adventures.
In 2021 the Glacier Classic was renamed the Kercher Glacier Classic in honor of our dear friend and club member Bryan Kercher. Bryan tragically lost his life in a mountaineering accident in the spring of 2021. He loved Glacier National Park as much or more than anyone we ever knew. What better way to celebrate his contagious smile, energy and spirit than to share some adventures in this magnificent place!
Check back here for more details as the event gets closer!
20th Annual Kercher Glacier Classic- August 15-18, 2024
Divide Creek Campground, St. Mary, Montana
The twentieth Classic turned out to be one of the best attended ever with 40 members participating. The weather was mostly great, the trips were fantastic, and it seems like everyone had fun in camp. Four days almost seemed too short!
A couple of trips on Thursday got things kicked off. A large majority of the attendees arrived at the campground on Thursday. We had quite a few trips take place on Friday. The weather got a little wet that afternoon, but it seems like most trips were done of wrapping up before it got too nasty. We dealt with a couple of short showers that evening in camp, but then things cleared and remained that way for the rest of the weekend. On Saturday everyone was heading into the mountains somewhere on one of the best weather days for our Classic’s ever! More fun on Saturday night in camp and around the campfire. A few trips took place on Sunday as well.
Trip reports can be found in the 'Trip Reports' section of our website. There were several other spur of the moment trips that occurred as well: Hikes, scrambles and even some rock climbing at Blackleaf Canyon.
A big thank you to everyone who attended and made it special. It’s always fun meeting first timers and also visiting with those who have been coming for years. Here’s to another 20 years!
Forest Dean Elizabeth Moore Joan Schumacher
Candy Hartman Don Hartman Nichole Burgio
Francis Horton Paul Jensen Laurel Vielle
Zach Robertson Kimberly Meade-White Jim Goss
Corey Hinshaw Julie Kahl Kaitlin O’Dell
Stefan Kolis David Kahl Tom Statz
Edna Blanchfield Kristina Codiana John Welter
Baron Peper Marin Govett Rupert Williams
Sean Colvin Monica Roscoe Taryn Brahmsteadt
Mark Albrecht David Albrecht Alex Obbard
Dori Gilels Eli Kruse Ryan Gregson
Carson Ramsden Sam Watson Jay Osorio
Jen Racicot Brandon Van Arsdale Gail Meuchel
Dell Meuchel
19th Annual Kercher Glacier Classic (2023)
Once again a great group of us all joined up for our annual pilgrimage known as the Kercher Glacier Classic. 28 folks ended up making the trip (several no-shows, which was weird). Weather (wind and some light sprinkles) seemed to battle smoke conditions for an opportunity to thwart our good times this year, but neither really ended up winning the battle. Most of the trips went off without too many changes, and the camp life was fun as always!
Quite a few of the folks listed below arrived on Thursday. A couple of trips transpired that afternoon, as well. Everyone else came on Friday. Divide Creek Campground once again served as a great basecamp for our adventures. We couldn’t have a campfire this year due to the Stage 2 restrictions, but we were
able to sit around a small gas fire and enjoy food, drink and company. Always fun to catch up with friends old and new!
Several trips occurred on both Friday and Saturday. The wind was the headliner on Friday, with smoke making its way back in on Saturday (but never really too bad). A few of us adventured once more on Sunday but most headed home.
Thanks to all who once again made this a fun and enjoyable event. Next year the Classic turns TWENTY! Mark it on your calendars now!
2022 Kercher Glacier Classic
Another year and another great Classic! 33 of us made the trip to St. Mary this year and enjoyed some great trips, great camp life and great weather. It was a great mix of first timers and seasoned Classic veterans. A record number of folks arrived on Thursday to enjoy a longer event. Perhaps we’ll need to start on Wednesday next year!
We had one trip on Thursday, four on Friday, four on Saturday and two on Sunday this year. It seems we collectively climbed a lot of peaks and saw a lot of bears (and moose). Everyone stayed safe! No injuries. Lots of smiles.
Camp life was once again a blast. Campfires were allowed, which ALWAYS makes life more pleasant. We enjoyed good food and drinks. We had a rousing game of “Pin the Climber on the Mountain” (thanks Kimberly!). The only disappointment is that it all came to an end.
Divide Creek Campground once again proved to be a really great basecamp for our group. A huge thanks to proprietors Veronica and Matt for hosting us.
And thank you to all of you who attended! The Kercher Classic continues to be our most popular event and its because of our members who attend and make it so fun. Looking forward to next year already!
Attendees: (asterisk denotes first timer)
Forest Dean Fintan Maguire *Joe Maeser
Frank Dean Elizabeth Moore Minot Maser
Seth Anderson Paul Jensen Candy Hartman
Laurel Vielle *Kimberly Meade-White *Don Hartman
Corey Hinshaw Julie Kahl David Patterson
Jim Goss David Kahl Alec Patterson
*Coley Jones *Leland Earls Casey Lammers
*Drew Iaderosa *Josh Lewis *Andrew Twardowski
Dori Gilels *Anne Dellwo *Joan Schumacher
Lou Herritt *Francis Horton *Zach Robertson
*Rob Edington Pat Caffrey *Mark Korwald