Climb: Mount Stuart-Razorback Ridge, NW Face Direct
Date of Climb: 7/8/2006
Trip Report:
DAY ONE:
As we traversed the upper flanks of the Stuart Glacier, my heart pounded. I felt vulnerable having so much rock and ice above me, and the tennis shoes I was wearing on the steep snow didn’t increase my comfort level. The air was warm and the setting silent as we made our way to the rocky rib, known as Razorback Ridge, a rarely attempted route, one which we intended to climb.
In the distance I could see what looked like a large bergschrund that we would have to negotiate to gain the rock, one more element that kept me uneasy in our situation. As we drew nearer, the ice began to moan, each time making my heart skip a beat (or two).
Once below the ridge, I could clearly see that the crux of this climb would be getting on the rock. A jumbled mess of standing and fallen seracs separated us from our route. We carefully picked our way through the mess.
Once on the rock, the climbing was consistently enjoyable. The route was steep with awesome exposure, though the climbing was never extremely difficult. And the rock was solid, but often covered in lichen. At one point high on the ridge crest there is a perfect knife edged ridge that must be traversed, the namesake of the route. We finished the route in good time and then descended the West Ridge with a series of rappels and lots of down climbing, back to camp before dark. Satisfied with the days climb, I ate a huge dinner of beef and gravy and settled in for the night.
I would highly recommend this climb to others. It should be a “Classic” written in a guide.
DAY TWO:
I awoke to the buzzing of my alarm clock at 3:30 in the morning and soon thereafter found myself once again slipping and sliding in my tennis shoes, traversing the Stuart Glacier. The distant sunrise was beautiful and for a short moment, the entire mountain lit up in red.
Today we were attempting the long and difficult Northwest Face route as described in Alan Kearney’s guide, “Classic Climbs of the Northwest.” And though I knew gaining the rock would again be challenging, it would definitely not be the crux of the day, considering the 5.10 rock climbing the route had to offer.
I felt even more vulnerable as we approached the base of the climb then I did the previous day, with car sized ice chunks perched overhead. Again the mountain was silent.
Right off the ground, this face begins with a 5.10+ finger crack pitch. And with at least 4 more pitches rated 5.10 higher up, this climb was consistently difficult. But, yet again the rock was always solid, the climbing super fun and very memorable.
The higher we climbed, the more difficult the route became. Fatigue and dehydration played a role on our abilities on this strenuous climb, as well as climbing with bulky backpacks.
After many hours and lots of pitches we found ourselves on top, about 50 feet from the true summit. Having both been to the summit many times before, we didn’t bother to walk over, but instead descended the Cascadian Couloir. It was then that we began the tiresome trudge back to Goat Pass, where we had bivied the previous night and stashed all our gear.
We reached camp just before dark and again ate huge dinners and settled in for the night. We had planned on climbing a third route the following day.
DAY THREE:
Upon waking up the next morning, Mount Stuart was socked in and there was a strong, mildly cold wind. Both being tired from the previous two days and not wanting to suffer in the conditions (though another route would have certainly gone) decided to pack up and head home.
We took our time on the hike out, which was quite enjoyable. Both being satisfied with the previous days work, two big routes (big for us) in one weekend.
Gear Notes:
Double set of cams, ice axe, no need for crampons yet
Approach Notes:
Ingalls Lake, easy goin'
