[TR] Mt. Stuart- Stuart Glacier Couloir, Upper West Ridge 4/18/2004

[CascadeClimber]

Climb: Mt. Stuart-Stuart Glacier Couloir, Upper West Ridge

 

Date of Climb: 4/18/2004

 

Trip Report:

Easy: Mountaineer Creek approach: No brush, no boulders.

Hard: Wallowing in thigh-deep freshiez below the couloir, very snowy rock on ridge.

Fun: Perfect ice and neve for half of couloir, thrilling rock climbing with gloves and tools, spicy weather, Sherpa Glacier glissade.

 

Assorted pics:

Argonaut

 

Stuart

 

Sunrise on Seracs

 

First pitch from the notch:

 

Airy belay on north side

 

South side traverse pitch

 

Sherpa Balanced Rock

 

Spectre of Gaper

 

Great climb. Props to Jens for leading the hairball pitch.

 

-L

 

Gear Notes:

Almost full set of nuts, a few medium cams, lots of slings, a couple pins.

 

Approach Notes:

Parked one mile from TH. Trail mostly snow covered.

[JoshK]

That's definitely a cool climb, I really enjoyed it last year.

 

Just so you know, the rock on the ridge can get *MUCH* worse. Last year it was a giant mushroomed loose snow mess and getting any sort of rock meant tons of excavating. Time consuming and unnerving fer sure.

[dbb]

Nice job Loren! Way to get after it!

[markws]

I will second that it was a "giant mushroomed loose snow mess" last year. I climbed up there about this time last year and I waited around at the notch for an hour and a half waiting for some visibility before I skied down. I spent most of that time thinking how glad I was that I was skiing the couloir and didn't have to climb that mess of a ridge.

[slothrop]

Sweet! Nice photo from the belay.

 

Is that the NW Face Couloir starting just above the seracs in photo #3?

[Alpinfox]

JoshK said

That's definitely a cool climb, I really enjoyed it last year.

 

Just so you know, the rock on the ridge can get *MUCH* worse. Last year it was a giant mushroomed loose snow mess and getting any sort of rock meant tons of excavating. Time consuming and unnerving fer sure.

 

I second this.

 

I climbed the S.G.C. in mid-May 2002 and we had 2-3ft of loose snow covering all of the rock with HUGE mushrooms on the summit (20ft tall) and ridgecrests. This forced us to traverse out across the North face a bit and we ended up reaching the summit via the last pitch or so of the NW buttress (I think). It was a little freaky and I was glad to be in one piece when I finally got to the summit. Your pictures show a LOT less snow than we encountered.

 

Congratulations!

[forrest_m]

Is that the NW Face Couloir starting just above the seracs in photo #3?

 

It is, or at any rate, that's where we climbed when we did NWFC last year. You can see the Great Gendarme on the skyline above. The NWFC climbs straight up to below the GG (where you would hit after rappelling if you were doing the original N. Ridge). Looks like more ice this year, maybe that's just wishful thinking.

[ivan]

in picture #2 the ne corner, winter variation, looks damned inviting right about now....

[Jens]

Loren & I's plan was to climb the NW face couloir but we didn't see any ice hardly at all on the thing so we we went for this climb instead. I think the picture just made it look like ice? Forrest, If you guys climbed it last year under these conditions, nice work. (And I at least consider myself a wannabee M-number chaser)

 

Kind of weird how freeze-thaw makes ice up there. Another new possible line I have been scouting up there had less ice on it then I have seen June 1st of another year.

[Jens]

I will second that it was a "giant mushroomed loose snow mess" last year. I climbed up there about this time last year and I waited around at the notch for an hour and a half waiting for some visibility before I skied down. I spent most of that time thinking how glad I was that I was skiing the couloir and didn't have to climb that mess of a ridge.

 

Ever thought about going back and taking the mandatory air to the climber's right of the constriction? It would be about a 35-40 foot launch. Hairball in the mountains but seen at lift areas a lot. Right now a yardsale landing might even be OK becasue the schrund is filled in.