[TR] Prusik - West ridge 07/27/2022

[Phillip Failor-Rich]

Trip: Prusik - West ridge

Trip Date: 07/27/2022

Trip Report:

 

     This started out as a pretty rough night of sleep at the Stuart lake trailhead. I woke up sweating and a bit unhappy; even considering not getting out of the car to go on this adventure I had planned for myself. I have this experience a lot; I get excited and drive long distances or hike in large approaches just for my mind to try and convince me that I don't want to be there or that it doesn't sound fun. I find that 100% of the time if I fight those feelings and push through I have the time of my life. This was very true for today. I got my shit together and left the trailhead. Made it up to Colchuck and over Asgard in what felt like no time. 

 

     I hear a lot of people complain about the hike up to Colchuck lake. Yes, it's busy but isn't everywhere else we go in most of our daily lives? At least most of these people that we encounter on the way up are happy, movin, and enjoying what we all come out to enjoy. Anyways... Making up and over Asgard before the day got too hot was the way to do it! down at the icicle, it was going to be 100 something and I didn't want any of that on the way in.

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Dragontail looked extra special that day.

The usual interactions with the furry locals up on the plateau ensued (cautions walking around trying not to get headbutted).

It was getting hot at this point. The heat was not the biggest issue I found. That would be the mosquitos. They kept you moving!!! If you stop at all a million would swarm and start chewing. I definitely moved faster than I was in shape to do only because I had no other choice.

The plan for today was to romp up the west ridge of Prusik. The pictures I had seen of prusik were mesmerizing, to say the least. The biggest thing I noticed was how different this mountain looks from every angle. From the first sight of it after Asgard, it looks like a tiny point along a much larger ridge. Every time you get a bit closer it seems to grow up out of the ridge it's a part of. 

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Up close and personal with the south face.

after making some questionable route-finding decisions I made it to the base of the west ridge; Just below the obvious heavily cleaned crack above the notch.

Rock shoes and the fanny pack went on and up I went. 

This route is something else.

You find yourself wandering up some low filth CLEAN rock with some intermixed interesting moves until you pop up to a flatter section of the ridge. This was one of the highlights for me. A combination of butt scooting and finger rail scootching with the exposure of the south face below you is something else.

Enjoy the exposure, pull a slab move, climb some crack, squeeze a chimney, then enjoy the views.

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The raps were straightforward, I believe with a bit of down climbing I did four rappels.

After a little bit of walking back to the notch, I was able to collect my stuff and get eaten a bit more by the buzzers.

The rest of the trip was very uneventful. A quick dip in a few of the lakes on the way down kept the temps down and kept me happy.

I can't recommend this route more to anyone. It has clean rock, great views, and interesting movement.

Maybe just wait until it isn't 1000 degrees.

 

Gear Notes:
Good attitude

Approach Notes:
Walkin

Edited August 1, 2022 by olyclimber
converted photos to jpg so we could see em

[olyclimber]

Way to get your shit together and get it done!  In my experience, you never regret going...only not going.

For the photos, the site currently doesn't work with Apple HEIC file format.  You have to convert them to JPG first.  Because I want to see the photos I'm going to do that for you now  ;).

[JasonG]

Such a fantastic route, thanks for the great report!

[Rad]

Love it. Thanks for posting.

Your stoke and smile remind me of a certain Canadian climber who caught the climbing bug as a teen and shared some amazing and fun stories here before moving on to higher dimensions. Sigh. Can't wait to see where your path leads.