[TR] Stuart - W. Ridge 8/2/2008

[ptownclimber]

Trip: Stuart - W. Ridge

 

Date: 8/2/2008

 

Trip Report:

It may seem rather silly to climb two routes on the same mountain within two weeks, but I don't get the chance to climb with Tony very often. We had climbed Cascadian Couloir in 2001, and our most vivid recollection from that trip was swearing that we would "never again" climb Stuart by that route. We had talked about the West Ridge for quite some time, and finally put a date on the calendar. Canceling such plans seems to be par for the course, but as this date approached nothing got in the way.

 

We met his brother Steve at the Amtrak stop in Tacoma and crashed along the road before midnight, after a stop in North Bend for groceries and pizza. The forecast had called for a chance of showers Friday night, but we saw nothing but stars that night and not a trace of clouds in the morning. The night was colder than expected, but we slept well and were on the trail by around 6am. By the time we got to Ingalls Lake, we started to see some clouds developing to the West and North, but nothing menacing. As we gained altitude, the peaks to the west were more and more obscured by these clouds. Our hike was pleasantly mosquito free and cooled by a nice breeze. We ended up in long sleeves most of the day.

 

 

From the end of Ingalls Lake we followed the faint trails which eventually lead along the ridge, then to scrambling and a traverse into the first couloir.

 

After the first roped pitch we started to get more cloud cover, which thickened after we passed Long John tower. We chose to traverse high, by the 'scissor like' rock formation, and by the time we really needed to see, the clouds were starting to obscure the route. We attempted to traverse right (South) and then up, but one short pitch led us to more scrambling back to the ridge. This seemed a better choice given the visibility, and we were able to simul-climb to the summit without much route finding difficulty. Occasionally spotting the party in front of us, a few fixed nuts and a piton confirmed that we were 'on route', other than that it was hard to tell. The Ridge is blocky and there are multiple options to get around and over obstacles, some harder than others. With bivy gear and boots, we opted for the easiest cracks and chimneys.

 

Down and to the right we found an easier chimney than the crack just above me:

 

As we reached the summit we were in the sunlight again and looked back to the southeast to see Rainier looming over a blanket of clouds pulled snug up against the west side of Adams and Stuart, wrapping around Stuart to the north. The top of Glacier Peak was just visible. It was great to top out with Tony and Steve, especially after Gabrielle and I had to bail off this route last year due to weather. After some food and pictures we headed down, hoping to make it to the creek before dark, for a warmer night's sleep.

 

Tony could still recall where to traverse high around the false summit to gain the top of Cascadian. On the July descent we had descended too far down the ridge and had to make one rappel. We were able to down climb on rock, crossing only about 20 feet of snow.

 

Looking back up the ridge, clouds now drifting up from the North:

 

Cascadian was kind of a drag after all that fun scrambling and climbing on beautiful granite, but we were happy to be going down the couloir. Towards the bottom we followed a trail veering south east, which became more and more faint until we were bushwhacking through brush, over a stream, walking along alder stems, and back into the brush and forest and more faint trails in the fading light. Just before we needed headlamps, we reached the main trail, a nice camp spot and the creek. We hydrated, refueled, aired out our feet and hit the sack.

 

We were off and rolling again by 6:00 and back to the car around 9:00. We took the long way home, stopping for mole enchiladas, a swim in the Columbia and a little hacky sack. It was a great climb and a great way to spend the weekend. Thanks, guys, for a great climb

 

 

Gear Notes:

-red and yellow TCU, #1 camalot, nuts, tri-cams, 60m rope

 

Approach Notes:

-west Rim of Ingalls Lake is mostly snow free (east rim too, for that matter)

[jport]

Yet again... another nice TR, P-Town!

The cloud-cover had us a bit confused on Little Tahoma that same weekend. We could see Stuart and I was wondering how your climb was going. Glad you pulled it off! :-)

[ptownclimber]

Nice! Any Stuart photos?

 

[scottgg]

Down and to the right we found an easier chimney than the crack just above me:

 

After having done this crack a few times in boots, its nice to know that there is an easier way to the right.. Fun route and great report!