Easy multi-pitch alpine trad in washington

I'm trying to get practice on multi-pitch alpine trad.

I have done
- SEWS (5.5)
- Tooth (5.4?)
- R&D (5.6 Leavenworth)
- Guy Peak (5.8 Improbable Traverse). This felt a little intimidating on the traverse though the climbing was solid.

I'd say I'm solid upto 5.10b on sport climbing and not much used to crack climbing. (only a few upto 5.8 like classic crack).

Longest sport multi-pitch I have done: Prime Rib of the goat. ( took us 4.5 hours up with some wait for one party in front of us)

I'm looking for suggestions on the next few routes that I should try. These are what I'm thinking of:

- Prusik Peak
- Mt. Stuart West Ridge
- Ragged Edge in Vesper
- True Grit in Vesper
- Mt. Thomson
- Mt. Goode

What would be your suggestions - any other climbs? - if it is within this list, any specific order? The suggestions are based on what my friends told.

I prefer if it is solid climbing, sometime 4th class is more intimidating than 5.9 because of no protection.

I'd suggest when looking into future alpine/backcountry climbs, don't focus so much on the grade. Goode for instance, is maybe a 5.4, but has a nearly 20 mile approach, glacier travel, and you must be competent in simul-climbing thousands of feet of rock on loose terrain, and to carry-over and return a different way. It's VASTLY more serious than anything you listed you've climbed. 

i definitely agree with kyle. to me, the approach, routefinding, and descent on a lot of the "easy" routes up here aren't even remotely described by the 5.x grade.  goode in particular.....

the west ridge on stuart is another one that can turn into a epic pretty quick. tough, time consuming routefinding on that one. followed by a helluva descent.

a couple things i have learned. 1- the guidebooks up here generally understate the total effort required to do the route. 2- almost every aspect of climbing up here takes longer than you think it will, in particular approaches and descents.

a few easier ones i would recommend to build on your experience would be spontaneity arete, ne ridge of black peak, e ridge of ingalls peak, sw rib on sews, concord/lexington/liberty bell linkup, routes on cutthroat wall, cutthroat peak, mt triumph, etc.

i would definitely try to get some of these smaller ones under your belt before trying to tackle the big ones.

There are innumerable options for moderate alpine rock climbs in Washington.  Slim makes some great suggestions.  To echo the other comments, the challenge of these big alpine rock routes is rarely the rock climbing.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I wasn't focusing too much on the grade, except I didn't want to get into something above my pay grade. It was added for clarity on which route I did and describe my current level of climbing. My criteria on looking for routes was grade <= 5.7, <= 6 pitches and mostly a day climb (may be a long day). Exception: Unless it is a spectacular climb like Stuart or Goode.

I'll try the suggested routes.

Side point: What is your take on East face of Tooth, would that also be a good practice?

Narendran Sivasubramanian wrote: Side point: What is your take on East face of Tooth, would that also be a good practice?

It's all good practice - go for it!

Not exactly alpine, or a peak, but the big tree route in Darrington (three o clock rock) is a fantastic 5.7, as it contains several styles of climbing in the first 3 pitches. hit the bolted shake, rattle, and roll extension and get almost 1,000 feet up. just don't go right now, as D-town currently has some of the worst wildfire-caused air quality in Washington. 

Kyle Elliott wrote: Not exactly alpine, or a peak, but the big tree route in Darrington (three o clock rock) is a fantastic 5.7, as it contains several styles of climbing in the first 3 pitches. hit the bolted shake, rattle, and roll extension and get almost 1,000 feet up. just don't go right now, as D-town currently has some of the worst wildfire-caused air quality in Washington. 

Ok, will give it a try.