[TR] Mclellan Peak - NE Couloir 05/02/2021

[kmfoerster]

Trip: Mclellan Peak - NE Couloir

Trip Date: 05/02/2021

Trip Report:

 

My friend Matt and I climbed the NE Couloir of Mclellan earlier this month. I've been intrigued by it since seeing an old Jens Holsten blog post a couple years ago and not being able to find anything else about it otherwise. Theres a brief mention of a route on Mclellan in the WA ice guidebook. I waffled about writing this up because I think the Stuart Range doesn't have a lot of options for solitude. I'm sure people will still flock to the usual spring classics. I settled on doing a more lazy, bare bones style trip report on this to shed some light. Social media is your best friend for seeing conditions of popular faces in the range. The route is fairly short. Similar in length and difficulty to the NW Couloir of Eldorado. Its likely to be easier early season (duh), but it seems likely to have large cornices at the snowfield/ridge at the top out. Theres two exit options, the left (hidden, except maybe from the northwest) being shorter and slightly easier. This gives a bit of contingency with route and cornice conditions. In the conditions we had I'd say it was WI3. 

 

First two pitches, taken later in the morning on the decent back to camp:

 

Matt coming up firm snow after the first ice pitch:

 

Second pitch:

 

 

 

 

 

Early April 2017. The first ice pitch is completely buried:

 

Gear Notes:
Pins, screws, rock pro to 1". Emphasis on small gear. Pickets if you'd like, we didn't take any.

Approach Notes:
Snow Lakes. Leave the trail at the western-most footbridge above Upper Snow Lake. Decend via the standard route.

[JasonG]

Nice!  Just when I thought I had seen all the non-death defying spring routes in there.