[TR] Mt. Stuart - W. Ridge 7/2/2008

[Mark_L]

Trip: Mt. Stuart - W. Ridge

 

Date: 7/2/2008

 

Trip Report:

I met my good friend Carl from Sandpoint, ID at the end of the N. Fork Teanaway road on Tuesday evening. We left the parking lot at 5AM the next morning and headed off to the West Ridge of Stuart. We started the climb in the first couloir from the West Ridge proper since the second (main) couloir had snow in the lower part and we didn't want to take our chances with snow sitting on slabs after lots of melting action. We traversed into the main couloir above the snow and climbed it to its head.

We traversed into the basin beneath Long John Tower and climbed the headwall to the left of Long John to the shoulder of the West Ridge.

 

 

Some pleasant scrambling across the ledges on the shoulder led to the notch at the head of the Stuart Glacier Couloir route.

From the notch it is possible to completely avoid climbing on the North side of the ridge, which is somewhat loose and is drippy in early season. Here is a key step across on the South side of the ridge:

We arrived at the summit at about 12:30 in the afternoon and spent an hour lounging in the sun before the long, hot, dry grind down the Cascadian Couloir and the trudge over Long's Pass.

We were back at the car by 6:30 in the evening with very sore feet.

 

Gear Notes:

Ice axe, helmet if you worry about the goats kicking rocks on you.

 

Approach Notes:

Snow after Ingall's pass. Good footlog over Ingall's creek at the start of the trail to Long's Pass.

[spotly]

Nice job. Is that bypass on the same ledge where the north side pitch starts - just way right of there? I remember looking over that way and thinking the ledge just ended.

[Mark_L]

Yep,

 

You go right past the bivy corral, up and then step back left. Then you can traverse back left to the boot crack.

[Jimmy J]

I'm interested in this route because it appears you did it without any rope or protection. Did you climb any areas where you really needed a rope? Also, if you descended the false summit ridge on that slabby face that drops you down to the boulder field above the Cascadian, how was that step off the FS? I've only done that one once, in marginal snow, and it was unnerving for me. I'm curious if that step is easy on what I assume is now bare rock. I'd assume so....thanks

[goatboy]

Nice beta and entertaining photos...

 

Thanks!

 

 

[Jarred_Jackman]

I haven't been up recently, but I've almost always encountered a small amount of snow on the descent, just under the summit area but before CC. You can bet there will be a fair bit right now. Also, regarding the rope, you don't need one if you're comfortable climbing 5.8 solo. I say this only because if you're solo comfort ceiling is 5.6 and you hit 5.6 or more up there you might get wigged out. 90% of the climbing, if you're on route, is scrambling on great quality rock. That said, if you're off route you can easily find 5.8 or a little harder. Lots of options on the WR.

[Mark_L]

Jarred's assessment is about right. I'm quite familiar with the route, I do it every year as a conditioner so I know exactly where the best route goes. Almost all of the 5th class moves are bouldering moves, not sustained, but some do have death fall potential.

 

The places where a rope is typically used are getting above Long John Tower, (Its best to go up the headwall well to the climber's left of LJ all of the way to the ridge crest which puts you on the West Shoulder)and on the final summit pyramid from the West Ridge Notch. Nothing is more difficult than about 5.4 if you pick the right route. If it gets more difficult than that and you don't want to force it, just backtrack and find an easier way. (Doing this without a rope definitely has its advantages in terms of time.)

 

As for descending from the false summit, DO NOT try to descend from the top of the false summit. Find the line of cairns from the summit that takes you over the ridge coming off of the false summit a couple of hundred feet below the top of the false summit. Right now this will put you right on the snowfield where it is an easy plunge step to the basin. Later in the year it is a bunch of very loose rock on slabs and is much more unpleasant.

[Jimmy J]

Good stuff, thanks Mark. When I came off the FS last time, I had followed the cairns down below a step in the FS ridge, and then a boot track out onto a sloping face above a rock band, maybe 150' below. I had to traverse out about 150', maybe a bit more to clear the end of this rock band, then it was clean face down to the boulder field. Experience is a good teacher, I'm looking forward to getting back up there. Thanks, again.