Mount Hunter - West Ridge Info

[jmass]

Hey folks, first time posting but this seems like the place for information. 

I'm looking at taking a trip to fly into Denali to make an attempt on Mount Hunter. My partner and I are looking at the west ridge. I was hoping some of yall might have some good info. 

1. Is there any books that cover the climb and route well? (I just enjoy books for some reason.)

2. What rack do you recommend? Trying not to pack a bunch of equipment I won't need. 

3. Rope length? I love my 50m 8mil half rope setup.

4. I'm looking at climbing in early July. Any experience with that time of year? 

5. Any other tid bits from anyone that climbed that area.

[JasonG]

4.  Isn't July considered quite late for the Alaska range?  I have no direct experience, just that it seems everyone goes earlier in May/June.

[bedellympian]

Yeah, like Jason said: July will not work, you can't land a ski plane on the glacier in July and need a heli which triples(?) the price and the hazard and conditions will be pretty f'd. You want late April to late May. June works if you're going to higher elevation (Denali), but even that season ends in late June.

[wayne]

There are two different starts to the Westridge route. The one that Beckey did is the original one, and it starts on the far right hand side/ toe of the ridge. People have taken the shortcut way often as well to the left. It has Serac hazard and you don’t want to get caught there when it’s hot. We went up to the original Becky way, but came down with a short cut. The thing about doing the original route is after you get so far you can’t reverse it. 

[jared_j]

On 12/25/2024 at 6:11 PM, wayne said:

There are two different starts to the Westridge route. The one that Beckey did is the original one, and it starts on the far right hand side/ toe of the ridge. People have taken the shortcut way often as well to the left. It has Serac hazard and you don’t want to get caught there when it’s hot. We went up to the original Becky way, but came down with a short cut. The thing about doing the original route is after you get so far you can’t reverse it. 

The variation Wayne is referring to is sometimes called the "Bocarde Variation" (this may help deciphering older TRs online); I know of a couple of parties that took this in the mid 2000s.  

When I planned a trip 15 years ago (which didn't go very well), the Joe Puryear Alaska Climbing Supertopo book had been recently released.  I found it very helpful at that time, and it was relatively up to date at that point (with recently opened routes such as Freezy Nuts).  It might not be worth the highway robbery prices on Amazon currently.

I looked hard at the West Ridge of Hunter (though I didn't get on it). I was unsure about the Beckey Chimney (which is where the 5.8 rating comes from).  I emailed Joe P (RIP) asking his thoughts on the Bocarde variation (which sidesteps the section of the route with the Beckey Chimney). He took the standard route, replying that he "... didn't feel like I was ever gonna fall out of that chimney...".  

Enjoy your adventure!

Edited December 30, 2024 by jared_j
Clarity

[jmass]

I appreciate the info. I was concerned July would be too late. But I figured it was better to ask than just assume. That is the only time I have off from work so I guess maybe start looking elsewhere.