Whitney Gilman Ridge 

If you have fantasies of serious alpinism, then a winter ascent of the Whitney Gilman Ridge is the ticket. As an aspiring alpinist, I did the route in January, 1979, in very dry but cold conditions. Then, just a few weeks ago, when I foolishly scheduled an ice climbing trip to New England for early January, I did it again, this time with fairly warm conditions (mid-thirties), but with verglas here and there to keep things interesting. The terrain on the route reminded me of crux sections of some of the great alpine routes in the Alps and Canadian Rockies -- great position and when the cracks have snow and ice in them, you'll need to draw on a whole range of tricks to get through the steep sections.

I think you want to be first in line on this one. The climb is loose for the most part but punctuated by awesome climbing in exposed sections. The flake below the metal pole is spectacular. The cruxes are all solid and fun. The views of Canon Mt are exceptional. Perfect climb for the weekend warrior (like me) A quick walk off makes this a fun affair.

Quick walk off... are we thinking of the same route... i guess these things are relative, but the walk off is the reason i only climb at cannon once in a while... im a wimp when it comes to hiking...

I found pitch three (the guidebook one) a little loose. The 5.8 handcrack described here sounds like a great idea!

I avoided this climb for years, primarily because of its reputation as a crowded moderate with high rockfall potential. Big mistake. With an early start on a Monday, we were all alone on this fun route. The exposure makes the moderate grade very satisfying and the scenery is fabulous. The recommended light rack to 3" is right on -- I read somewhere that a #4 Camelot was useful, but it ended up just being dead weight for me.

Highly recommend doing the 5.8 crack/corner on the 3rd? pitch. Eats two #1 camalots and puts you a great ledge on the overhanging right face a little earlier. A nice face pitch links into the pipe pitch from here.
Staying right higher up 5.8+ also yields some nicer rock. Took 3 tries to finally get a good day to do this one and will always remember it. A truly great route with a feeling hard to get east of the rockies.

In 1998, the 5.8+/5.9 finish through the v-groove off the featureless slab had a loaf of bread size loose block that had to be maneuvered around at the crux. It probably upped the grade a bit, but it was an exciting finish to this great line. Of course my party advised me to lead that alternate finish because it was easy!

It's easy to get off route on the WG. When people get off route, they are almost always too far left. So, if you are comfortable on 5.8ish terrain, I'd say that you should always choose the right option if confronted with a routefinding choice.

If you go way left, you'll end up in a vertical scree field; however, too far right will take you around the corner onto the Across the Great Divide face (A4). It's unlikely that, while free climbing, you would find yourself on A4 territory.

So, on the WG, be like John McCain, and keep heading right.

My partner Dana and I were fortunate enough to do this on a beautiful September day two weeks ago; we were the only ones on the route. I had last done it in the summer of 1975, and it was my partner's second alpine rock route. Good protection, easy route finding, short cruxes, and there really isn't much loose rock, considering the cliff you're climbing on. Quite a day.

I did this route two summers back (2006) with Jim Shimberg. This was my first multi-pitch experience. I found this route to be very enjoyable and although I wasn't leading when removing the placements they seemed very safe, he rock wasn't overly lose but I suspect that over the summer it cleans up with more traffic. The 5.8 crack was awesome and at the top Jim Shimberg decided that instead of going around to the left that he would go straight over the top, this translated into 5.9 moves, and me taking a fall at 590 feet, that was a shocker, but this variant was fun and protected but a small nut, so if you are feeling zealous I would suggest this variant. when you reach the top do not forget to enjoy the view.

Found some pretty good footage of the route on you tube:

Did the ridge May 24, 09. I placed some of the pins especially third pitch about 15+yrs. ago. The pins are beginning to look like body weight only protection. Also these pins are likely to brake off during attempted replacement. Houston, we have a problem. Aren't much options left up there. Climbers should climb for climbing sake and experienced parties are a must now in my opinion. The rock shouldn't handle be nailed at the top. I wouldn't expand any rock up there. Besides that we were a party of three that had a wonderful day.

The 5.8 hand crack on the third pitch is a must-do. Very nice. Superfun summer or winter.

I think the route is worth doing, but must say I was disappointed. I was expecting a classic climb and long multi pitch experience akin to my experiences on Moby. We did the climb in 2 and a short pitch, took us about 2 hours and 40 minutes from car to top, and I thought there was maybe 60 ft total of fun exposed climbing. True there were good ledges, and yes it was on Cannon which was cool. But it just didn't live up to the hype for me.

It may not be the sickest clean route in the world, but it is a fantastic piece of history. And when compared to other ridge climbs it's classic. I don't climb it every year, but I look forward every time. It's also very similar to the rest of cannon moderates, as in shorter pitches broken up by gravely ledges. It reminds of climbing in the winds or other things out west, semi-technical climbing interspersed with technical climbing to get to the top of a feature.