Denali - Cassin Ridge May/June 2017

Hello,

I’m in the very early stages of planning a trip to climb Cassin Ridge on Denali next May, and looking for a committed and experienced partner or team to train, plan, and climb with. I fully understand the challenges and dangers of this route, and absolutely want to meet and climb with any potential partners before heading to Denali. I need to be sure that we can maintain a safe and positive attitude when we are on a long push in below zero temps or spending a night on a tiny bivy ledge in howling winds. That being said, I have been climbing big objectives all summer with people through mountain project and think I am an easy person to climb with.

I’m a 21 year-old student at Pomona College in Southern California, but I grew up in Portland, OR and have been climbing for the past 7 years and exploring in the mountains for the past 15. I’ve been back at home in Portland this summer ticking off the classic technical climbs of the Pacific Northwest. In the past month or so I’ve done Kautz Glacier and Ptarmigan Ridge on Rainier, Adams Glacier on Mt Adams, Coleman Headwall on Mt. Baker, West Ridge of Forbidden Peak, Price Glacier on Mt. Shuksan, and the complete North Ridge of Mt. Stuart. I’m in the final stages of getting my Wilderness EMT and have plans to take an Avy course this winter.

Ideally, I’m looking for a partner either based in the PNW or California or that has the ability to travel to train together and meet each other. I’ll be in California after this next week, and then back in the northwest December/January for winter break (with the ability to travel). I’m hoping to do some extensive ice climbing and winter mountaineering this winter, possibly making a trip to Lee Vining or Hyalite. I am very motivated to make this climb a reality! I might even try to get some expedition funding from my school.

If you are interested in doing the Cassin please send me a PM or text/call 50three2773750 and we can discuss further logistics and experience.

Cheers,
Clark

Hey Clark - love the enthusiasm!

Denali is a huge mountain with complicated logistics and severe weather. The Cassin is a pretty darn hard route, crazy long and committing. Denali and especially the Cassin is a very big step up in difficulty from the Oregon and Washington peaks. Perhaps a better?, more conservative!, plan would be to climb the West Butt on Denali - which is a great route. Gets you Alaska experience, Denali experience, and then you have knowledge of the Cassin descent route and you gain that critical Alaskan experience before stepping up to the big bad daunting Cassin?

Perhaps you have contemplated all of this and you feel you are ready to step up to the Cassin. Whatever you end up doing, hopefully you have a great adventure awaiting you. Post up your experience!

Wally

Hey Wally,

Thanks for your comment and your concern. As I said in my post, I am aware of the extreme difficulty in climbing Cassin Ridge and I am confident I will be able to handle the challenge. Several of my climbing partners from this summer who I consider my climbing peers, are looking at the route as well.
I am not particularly interested in climbing the West Buttress, from people who have climbed it I have heard that the climbing is similar to the DC or Emmons on Rainier. As you said, climbing any route on Denali is a huge undertaking, with lots of planning and very extreme weather. The extensive planning, weather, and altitude challenges would be encountered on a route like West Buttress as well, albeit to a lesser extent than Cassin. I feel that if I am going to make the trip up to Denali, and negotiate these challenges inherent on the mountain, I want to be climbing a route with technical ground and commitment. I feel that I am prepared to tackle the technical challenges of the Cassin, especially with 9 months of focused training between now and the climb.

Clark

I have been on the West Buttress and on the DC and I assure you that they are not the same.

There are other objectives in the range that provide both the Alaskan introduction and technical challenge without the high level commitment and risk associated with the Cassin.

Obviously the West Buttress and DC are not the same climb, I never meant that.

I appreciate everyone's concern for my safety, but my intention of posting was to find a partner for this route, not to debate if it is too risky for me. There are no gatekeepers (besides NPS I guess) and I must choose for myself what I can handle. I understand the risks, and that is precisely why I am interested in the climb.

Our 1st morning at Kahiltna Base a helicopter dropped a cargo net in the middle of camp containing three Koreans that died on the Cassin Ridge. Quite sobering. There may not be a gatekeeper, but you best have your ducks in a row and your shit wired tight.