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beginner alpine suggestions for weekend


TrogdortheBurninator

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I am trying to think of something fun to climb this weekend and am looking for suggestions. Looking for something to climb with a party of 3. Here are the catches/preferences:

 

I would prefer an alpine rock route

Climbing should be easy (~5.2 - ~5.6)

A few pitches of climbing (up to 5 or 6)

I cant leave seattle until 12:00 saturday. So either a one day climb that could be started early sunday, or a climb that could be approached in maybe 5-6 hours on saturday would be ideal.

Nothing too strenuous. It will be one of the partners first alpine climb.

 

Any gear suggestions are much appreciated.

 

I was thinking of South Arete SEWS or Ingall's south ridge. Any other ideas?

 

Thanks in advance.

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the ranger says an extra 4 miles on ingalls as of the last update. I figure that would add some time, but do you think we could still make the lake by saturday evening at a moderate pace.

 

I climbed the tooth about a month ago, so that is lower on the prioity list. What do people think about the amount of snow on route for ingalls or SEWS? I would like to avoid/minimize the use of an axe/crampons because one of partners has a fair amount of rock (sport climbing) climbing experience, but very little experience on snow. Another plus for any route would be large belay ledges so the exposure while belaying isn't too sketchy.

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What do you mean by "evening"? With an extra four miles on the road, you're talking about 3-6 hours to the lake probably. But you're officially not supposed to camp at the lake anyway. With all the snow around you can probably camp just about anywhere along the way. Right at the pass would be pretty darn scenic. The drive is about 2.5 hours.

 

I think you're going to be hard-pressed to find anything "alpine" that does not require stomping through a lot of snow right now.

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You could definitely do Ingalls. The belay stations are bolted for that alpine sport climbing feel and you can lead the whole route with a set of nuts. Dunno about the snow, since I've only been there in the fall. I second chuck's recommendation of camping near Ingalls Pass. Nice views all around from there.

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SEWS south arete is perfectly feasible. You may need mountain boots/axe to get from the arete to the summit but you could either climb in the boots or carry them. Maybe use rock shoes for the 1st pitch then switch to boots when it is convenient.

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Ingalls is a good climb, but you could make the approach Saturday by driving to the Ski-In party in Mazama, and go for S. Early Winter Spire. It is less than half the snow hiking that you'll encounter on the way to Ingalls, and there is less steep snowy terrain inbetween car and summit. The "mixed" pitch to the summit will be very easy to set up with a fixed rope of you want to, but my guess is even your sporto buddy will do just fine without that precaution.

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Dont know if this is a little basic but as a beginner on alpine pinnicle and castle seem a comfortable and enjoyable climb that are rewarding and give a taste for the alpine without providing too much potential for defeat. Not multi pitch though.

 

Just a bigginer putting in his cents.

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Thanks for asking what I've been thinking lately - It's been a long time since I've had a chance to get out and a few of these options should shake the moths out a bit...

 

BTW, if anyone would like to tackle the Tooth or something similar in the next week or so, let me know...

 

Trogdor, make sure you share a TR when you get back, yeah?

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