Stuart N Ridge and Dtail Serp Ridge Combo Advice?

[kboh]

I’m soon heading out from Ohio to meet a friend from Portland the week of aug 15. We are thinking of doing Stuart then Dragontail from the north (stuart/colchuck trailhead). The idea is- Day 1- drive to trailhead, 11 am hike in to stuart, bivy near area of descent route (NW buttress/goat pass). Day 2- climb (upper N Ridge), and descend stuart, bivy same place. Day 3- hike over to Dtail. Day 4- climb Dtail and hike back to car. Day 5- head home or hike out from Dtail. Hopefully this avoids hauling and using bivy gear on the climbs. Thoughts? Advice?

[Sol]

I dont know your skill level comin from Ohio, but that NW Buttress descent is pretty full value. FWIW.

 

If you do decide to descend via NW Butt or Sherpa glacier (North Side) then it's of little value and a lot more work to move your bivy up to the Goat Pass area from the lower basin.

[DRep]

That sounds like a plan I had a few years ago... Didn't go well...

 

[kurthicks]

For Stuart - I'd suggest coming in from Ingalls Lake and bivying in the basin somewhere on the north side of Longs Pass in Ingalls Creek (there are bivys where the Longs trail crosses the creek if i remember correctly) on day 1. Start day 2 early...hike up and around Goat Pass in the early AM, cross the glacier, send the North Ridge, descend the Cascadian back to your camp. hike out day 3. Drive to Leavenworth that night.

 

For Dtail - Have morning coffee in Ltown, then hike into to Colchuck Lake in the evening. Get up on day 5 and send Serpentine, then hike out...or do it in a day, if you can't get a bivy permit for the Colchuck Zone.

 

You don't need to haul bivy gear up either route with this plan, though it does add a little driving and a little more hiking.

[Rad]

The most straight-forward descent from Stuart is the Cascadian couloir, which puts you quite a way down the valley from Ingalls Lake and Goat PAss. It would take a while to hike back up to your bivy. Also, Dtail is a good distance from Cascadian.

 

Kurt's suggestion is a good one. Here's a variation that may be a little easier, assuming it's easier to carry your gear over Stuart than to spend a lot of time hiking back up to your bivy spot.

 

Two days: Teanaway trailhead over to the N Ridge of Stuart. Climb same, descend Cascadiand and return over Long's pass to your car. There are only two 5.9 pitches on the upper NR of Stuart, and they are both short. The rest is much easier.

 

Two days: Drive around to Ltown, try to get a Colchuck area bivy. If you can, stay at Colchuck Lake one night. Climb Dtail the next, return to you camp, and hike out that afternoon. If you can't get a pass you might do Dtail as a very long day or bivy somewhere along the Stuart basin (not sure if that's the right name).

 

You'd have to be quite fit and able to move swiftly over complex terrain to pull off this combo. You might consider taking 3 days to do the complete NR of Stuart at a more leisurely pace. Then recover in Ltown and go do Outer Space on Snow Creek Wall to cap off your trip.

 

Good luck and have fun!

[kurthicks]

Good suggestion Rad.

 

You can haul packs on the two 5.9 pitches easily as the pitches are both less than 30m and straight up. Tie into the middle, clip one rope to the gear, trail the other without clipping, then pull up the bivy gear to the belay before the follower climbs.

[Drederek]

Think about climbing Serpentine Arete first in a long day, then driving over to the Teanaway and climbing Stuart in 2 or 3 days.