MountainMan Posted August 11, 2002 Posted August 11, 2002 Climbed the W. Ridge of Sherpa on Saturday 8/10 with two other climbers. We left the parking lot at 4:45AM and made the hump up over Long's Pass. Once on Long's Pass, we descended into the Ingall's Creek basin and headed east towards the approach to the Stuart/Sherpa Col. We were at the col at 8:45AM, and we then proceeded to rope up and start climbing. With 3 people, it took a lot of time to do the actual climbing. We didn't summit until about 1:00PM. Going back up and over Long's Pass was quite brutal after 13 hours of climbing. We finally got back to the car at about 8:45PM, right before it got dark. Overall it was a great trip. With only two people on your rope team, your time spent on the rock will be almost half of what ours was. A strong two-person team should be able to do this route in 13-14 hours. I would highly recommend a strong party do this route in one day, versus hauling gear up and over Long's Pass twice for an overnighter. Now we're off to go climb Fisher Chimneys today and tomorrow ... full report to come. Quote
Darren Posted August 12, 2002 Posted August 12, 2002 Good job, MountainMan! I enjoyed this route last Friday. Only low point in the day was misplacing my sun glasses. Did you happen to find a pair of black oakleys in a black cloth case? Quote
MountainMan Posted August 13, 2002 Author Posted August 13, 2002 Darren, No, I didn't find any sunglasses. I know how frustrating that is though ... I've lost several cameras, sunglasses, and ice axes throughout the years. I did find a #5 nut on the Shuksan summit pyramid today though. Certainly payback for all the stuff I've lost along the way. Quote
Darren Posted August 13, 2002 Posted August 13, 2002 Thanks, MountainMan! It's a bummer but ultimately a small price to pay to the Climbing Gods for a safe, beautiful day in the mountains. Quote
klenke Posted August 13, 2002 Posted August 13, 2002 Now, Mountain Man, answer my query: The Balanced Rock. Hmmm? Quote
MountainMan Posted August 13, 2002 Author Posted August 13, 2002 Haha, you're absolutely right Paul ... that balanced rock does look higher. Quote
Jarred_Jackman Posted August 14, 2002 Posted August 14, 2002 Do you know how the west ridge of sherpa compares to the west ridge of stuart as far as ability to solo. I know what the grade is but do you think the route finding and moves are pretty similar or is the sherpa route harder? Would you solo sherpa if you had soloed stuart, have you done stuart? Quote
MountainMan Posted August 14, 2002 Author Posted August 14, 2002 I haven't climbed the W. Ridge of Stuart, I took the Cascadian Couloir. We tried to climb the W. Ridge earlier this summer but got rained out. As for soloing the W. Ridge of Sherpa, it's very possible if you're comfortable with 5.5 alpine. I would say (from what I've heard) that the W. Ridge of Stuart is more difficult than the W. Ridge of Sherpa .. but again, I haven't climbed Stuart W. Ridge so perhaps someone else on the site can offer their input. There is really only one or two moves on Sherpa that are somewhat tricky, and even those moves are fairly straight-forward. The rock route on Sherpa is pretty short, and if you're soloing it, it would probably only take you about 45 minutes to an hour of climbing. Routefinding is very easy on Sherpa ... just follow the rap stations. Good luck if you go, and give us a TR when you return. [ 08-14-2002, 10:30 AM: Message edited by: MountainMan ] Quote
Jens Posted August 14, 2002 Posted August 14, 2002 No balanced rock guys? __________________________________ As for soloing, the West ridge would be easy and safe. The part that would probably make the average Joe alpinist to pause would be a 15 foot section of off fingers. Only 5.6, but if your crack leading limit was say... 5.9, You'd better concentrate pretty hard or you're ridin' the range. I guess I sound like a mountie. Quote
MountainMan Posted August 14, 2002 Author Posted August 14, 2002 We didn't have time for the balanced rock. I tried to get my partner to go for it, but he wasn't sharing my motivation, especially with a Fisher Chimneys trip planned for the following day. Jens, nice work on Formidable! I might repeat that route this summer. I'll contact you for some beta soon if we decide to go for it. Quote
mikeadam Posted August 14, 2002 Posted August 14, 2002 Jens I know you secretly support the Sierra Club... Quote
Jens Posted August 14, 2002 Posted August 14, 2002 quote: Originally posted by mikeadam: Jens I know you secretly support the Sierra Club... But don't tell them that I pack heat into the Pickets to supplement my rations with wild game. Mountainman.... You should definitely check out the route on Formidable. Also there are several obvious lines that are waiting on the face. It's a lot like the South face of Forbidden only it's twice as high and a lot wider. Well, enough chestbeating for now. Quote
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