The Chopping Block is a 6,819-foot summit in the Picket Range of Washington’s North Cascades within North Cascades National Park, and although maps officially call it Pinnacle Peak, the informal name is more widely used. Near Mount Degenhardt and visible in clear weather from Newhalem, it stands in a landscape of sharp ridges, spires, and deep glacial valleys drained by Goodell Creek to the Skagit River. Its rugged setting reflects the formation of terranes about 50 million years ago, later volcanic activity, and repeated Pleistocene glaciation. The mountain’s marine west coast climate brings heavy rain, wet snow, cloudy winters, clearer summers, and notable avalanche danger.