Storm King Rock Climbing

From Graystone to the Guardian, this is yet another of the fabulous Quartzite Peaks also known as The Grenadiers. As with all of the peaks of this sub-range, it is a pretty mountain, standing third from the end above the north fork of Trinity Creek. With Silex and the Guardian nearby, but more difficult to access, Storm King's proximity to the northern terminus of the Needle sub-range accentuates its position in the San Juans. Indeed, the quad is named after this illustrious mountain. Additionally, it is blessed with a "flower-strewn path of a route" up an imposing, but nice, north face climbed by Bob Bliss in the '70s. By the way, this is one of the few north faces in the Rockies with only one route.... Its unnamed neighbor to the east, peak 13,405, also has a nice northern aspect waiting for first ascentionists. The walk up on the south side begins at the saddle with Peak Eight. It is well cairned. The southeast ridge, with initial climbing moves over a step, later has portions of scrambling over steepish sections. The northeast ridge was climbed by Mike Vanderbeek in the '90s, but information about it is lacking. During a Super-Alpine section of an XT 30-day C.O.B.S. course, Marcus Brown, with students, climbed the northwest ridge as well.