[TR] Mt. Thompson - West Ridge 7/22/2012

[ClimbAndSki]

Trip: Mt. Thompson - West Ridge

 

Date: 7/22/2012

 

Trip Report:

Route is in great shape, Snow free. I think we were the first party up this year.

 

Taken from the pass, up left side and down right.

 

 

1st pitch from rope up point, we stopped the first pitch at the trees(30 meters), then did longer pitch (crux)(~50 meters), then a short climb up to the slab and across it.

 

 

4th pitch, 1st above the slab, we took this to the top of this step and simlclimbed the scramble across the false summit to the base of the final rock step to the main summit. One rope team in our party kept simlclimbing around the final rock step for the right for a 4th class finish.

 

 

I made a photosynth from the summit, but there were a lot of clouds.

Thompson pan

 

 

Descent: we ended up doing 3 rappels on the descent, once you in the descent gully, you need to cut skiers right eventually otherwise you get funneled into a sketchy narrow steep gully

 

 

Gear Notes:

Ice axe for approach, rock gear, we brought crampons but didn't use them.

 

Approach Notes:

Kendall catwalk is melted out, there are a few snow patches before the catwalk, continuous snow after that catwalk to ridge lake, then mostly snow free to the pass except for some sketchy snow patches. The pass has a steep snow finger on the south side you need to climb or at least cross.

The Thompson basin is still mostly snow, but there is water available.

 

Edited July 25, 2012 by ClimbAndSki

[OlympicMtnBoy]

Nice job, I think that's a fun climb, not so much for the rock but for the cool alpine ambiance. When we did it a few years ago we didn't have to rappel on the descent which is the 4th class scramble route to the top. I do recall one or two anchors that we scrambled left or right to get around without rapping (we only took a 30m rope).