Type: Trad, Alpine, 500 ft (152 m), 4 pitches, Grade II
FA: Wally Green, Bill Primak 1951
Page Views: 39,898 total · 184/month
Shared By: Ben Mottinger on May 26, 2006 · Updates
Admins: Mike Snyder, Taylor Spiegelberg, Jake Dickerson

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Description Suggest change

A great shorter route with three really nice pitches.

Approach: Walk up a well worn trail toward Cirque Lake from the Climber's trail to the west side of the south shoulder. Two well worn trails will cut off to the right to gain the shoulder. Both are about the same exposure and class 3 at most. Continue up the south shoulder until it steepens past class 3.

Pitch 1: Climb the grove to the right of the ridge crest to a ledge, continue right and then up to another big ledge. Or, start straight up the ridge apex from the base and traverse right to the big ledges. It is worth considering breaking up this into a couple pitches as the rope will bend all over and sight lines are broken (~45m)

Pitch 2: Climb the right facing corner/hand crack to an obvious large ledge on the left (~30m). *Some descriptions advise to extend this pitch further, but this is by far the most comfortable belay stance.

Pitch 3: Exit to the right off the ledge and climb the cracks in the right facing corner to the large ledge at the base of the K Cracks (~50m).

Pitch 4: For the 5.6 variation head down and left to cracks that lead up to a dihedral (rap station is at the base of the pitch). 

For the 5.8 variation, head straight up the fine crack (wide to start, then hand/finger). The left of the K-cracks is 5.8 or climb the right variation from a little bit lower down to the right for 5.8+. Climb above the rap station to belay from a nice ledge.

Finish: scramble left a little, then straight of a ramp/gully to the summit (easy class 3)

Descent: Scramble back down 3rd class to raps starting at the top of the K-cracks. Line of raps is climbers left of the route. Rap anchors are all new bolts/rings from top of K cracks down. Rap 1 ~30m, Rap 2 ~32m, Rap 3 ~25m, Rap 4 30m. A 70m rope or the use of two ropes is easiest to rig. A single 60m rope can be used with some creativity (Carabiner block offset from middle with the tag line side extended w/ cord) or with the use of alternate rappels, though much of the old tat anchors have been removed at this point.

Location Suggest change

Approach: Scramble up 4th class ledges on the south shoulder to the base of the south buttress. The climb starts at a right facing corner system. Descent: Rap off fixed anchors using two ropes, then downclimb the ledges.

Protection Suggest change

Standard rack

Photos

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