Path to the Cassin Ridge

Howdy,

Ever since I started climbing, the Cassin has been in the back of my mind as a thing I'd like to do "one day". I'm at a point now where I feel like I can start putting a date to that goal, I've lead lots of multipitch rock and ice, a few big walls, but no big winter alpine routes yet. To give a sense of where I'm at, here are some routes I've lead: Black Dike, Pinnacle Gully, The Prow (Yosemite), Lost Arrow Spire, Epinephrine. Heading out to do Kautz in a month and more remote alpine rock in August and bigger winter alpine routes in the winter.

I'm still probably a few years out, but I'm wondering from people who have done it what climbs/ routes they've done in preparation for a big route like that, and what level of technical competence/ climbing grade before attempting it?

Just had a couple friends do it. You're probably at a good level technically with Black Dike. You should be climbing M5 and WI5 comfortably at the crag and sending routes like Black Dike pretty casually. Looks like you're mainly missing actual alpine experience. Spend some nights out on snow/alpine routes and do lots of big routes with moderate terrain similar to AK learning to move efficiently. Rainier is a great start. A shorter/easier expedition/trip is helpful... Cordillera Blanca, Waddington, AK, Canadian Rockies, Alps are all good options. Bravo Glacier on Waddington is a classic North America prep for Cassin.

One does not need to be able to climb M5 or WI5 to climb the Cassin. I though I could, neither of my partners could lead WI5 to save their life. What one needs is competence in the mountains over long days of moderate snow covered rock and ice terrain while carrying a pack the whole time. By moderate I mean WI3 with occasional WI4 step. For instance, we did the business section of the Japanese Couloir in two pitches. Which meant running out it out 75'-100' between screws on 50-55 degree ice with a short step in the middle. I lead the first half of the first rock band with maybe 6-8 pieces of gear. After 16,500 or so we just solo'ed the upper part of the route. 

The Kautz is a starting place but how are you planning to climb it? Are you leaving a high camp or carrying up and over? Carry up and over will begin to give you an idea of what it begins to take to schlep yourself and gear at altitude. Next should be Liberty Ridge or something like Ptarmigan or Sunset Ridge or North Face Gully on Hood or North Ridge on Baker. 

None of the rock climbs you have listed, while a good list of classics is really translatable to the Cassin other than to hone rock technique. Here again long moderate routes wearing a pack all day. North Face of the Grand, Black Ice from Valhalla, North Ridge from Amphitheater Lake/Teton Glacier, N. Ridge of Stuart.

One aspect that many do not appreciate is what it takes for deal with the cold for weeks at a time. Dialing in that aspect is important. I suggest people go spend a week ski touring in the backcountry of Yellowstone in the winter. You are apt to experience some cold, damn cold, real cold temps. Like days of -40F (or -40C). Getting up in the morning, getting a brew going, packing up etc., is work when it is that cold. Then to turn around and do it again that night after a long day of skiing.

To be honest you are more than a few years away from the Cassin. Not to discourage you but you need way more time in the hills. The vast majority of the people that fly into to do the Cassin do not even get to the base. They get to 14,000k on the W. Butt  tired, freeze their ass, try to acclimate, and finally bail or settle on continuing on up the W. Butt. 

As a long time alpinist, please be reminded the skill set is just one part of climbing a route like the Cassin. The other part, and perhaps the biggest part is putting in lots of time and experiance in the alpine, aswell as the ability to move at a good pace, consistently over many hours/days. I also highly suggest you get some Alaska experiance too so you better understand the scale. Peak 11,300 would be a good place to start.

I do admire your goal and it is obtainable, but you really need to better understand the scale and volatility of your objective.

Good luck!

I think your chances of climbing the Cassin if it is your first Denali route are slim to none.  Sure, some have done it that way, but I don't know how many I've talked to who came to Denali planning to do the Cassin as their first route on Denali, and never even getting started on it.  I suggest you do at least one route on Denali before you even think about the Cassin.  Before I did the Cassin I did the W. Buttress, the W. Rib, the Muldrow->West Buttress, and then the Cassin.  I had zero mixed climbing experience before the Cassin, and could probably barely climb WI3.  But technical skills aren't going to be the limiting factor; I've climbed lots of long routes in Yosemite, but none of that is going to make a difference if you haven't spent the time on Denali (or something very similar).  I found climbing on Denali to be quite different than climbing anywhere else, and you need Alaskan climbing experience to begin moving up the grades on Denali.   I know many people seem to sneer at the West Buttress and think it is beneath them because it is an 'easy' route on Denali.  On the contrary, I think it is a fantastic route, and it would get a lot more respect if it weren't for all the people on it.  

Go climb some other route on Denali--it'll be well worth it.

Thanks for all the feedback. I don’t know the scale of this goal which is why I’m here asking y’all who’ve done it. I just need to know where to focus my efforts

So far my game plan is to spend more time in the alpine, and over the next few years take trips to Canadian Rockies and hopefully Alaska if I can afford it, focusing on ever increasingly long, cold, and difficult routes, while honing technical skill in the front country. Cassin would not be my first Denali route

So far I have an idea of what I’ll do for the next year, but beyond that is where y’all come in. July I’ll be on Kautz or N. Ridge Baker, yes lugging all gear to the top. August will be tetons and winds. Then this winter Canmore. Next summer back to Yosemite for more big walls (not very transferable but other goals). Then hopefully later that summer spend some time in the Canadian Rockies focusing on grade V snow/ ice/ mixed routes 

Like the others are saying, the difficulty of the individual pitches won't shut you down. The "5.8 pitch" felt easy and fun compared to the thousands of feet of calf burning steep snow and ice, especially with the altitude and a multi day pack. Even the approach going down the Seattle Ramp was like doing a big route itself, with thousands of feet of downclimbing with no trail to follow. It's a huge difference from the WB bootpack. The route is so steep that there is really only one natural ledge big enough for a tent on the entire length, so expect to be front pointing a lot. Being able to work fast and efficiently on a route of this size is what makes it so hard. So lots more cardio and leg training than getting your climbing grades higher. The suggestion for big moderate routes with a pack is really the way to go, with easier access in the alps than the states for the most part. My partner said the route was like doing three Kuffner Aretes on top of each other with bivys in between, and at higher altitude, with colder and worse weather, which seemed about right. You'll also want your big wall / winter camping skills together too. It's a really incredible route, and it takes a lot of work. Makes sense why tons of teams hoping for it end up changing plans at 14 camp, when you can be on the summit via the WB in about 8 hours if you just went for it. But about 15 people climbed it this season, and was the first Alaska trip for a bunch of us, so it’s definitely doable! 

Martin, I'll be honest and say that I don't feel like the replies you've gotten have been very helpful/supportive of your direct question. This is the way when it comes to climbing in Alaska, it seems. People will always want to line up to tell you how you aren't ready. 

From a technical perspective you sound fairly well prepared, that's great. Maintain your technical abilities. Where it sounds like you could use additional preparation is with more general mountaineering experience and steep snow climbing on big terrain. Add that in, plus a good dose of snow camping experience, and you'll probably be in a good place to go up and put yourself in position to try. 

Acclimatize on the West Buttress, and Upper West Rib first (ideally going to the summit from 14 in a day without it crushing you as an indicator of fitness) then have a long and honest conversation with your partner about your remaining level of commitment to doing the Cassin. If you believe you've still got it in you to do it in 3 days, and have a beautiful 5+ day weather window, and conditions are still right, then you go for it. 

If any of those is questionable and not 100% certain, you don't go for it that season but you come back with experience on Denali and more ready the next time you go to try the Cassin. 

The bottom line is that you'll NEVER know you're ready until you try, but you'll ALWAYS find people to tell you that you can't. Hopefully, you have enough experience to know when and how to bail if the answer is that you're not ready or things aren't going your way. 

If you want direct route suggestions here's some: http://blog.alpineinstitute.com/2009/09/prepping-for-cassin-ridge.html

*Disclaimer: I haven't done the Cassin yet, but I've made 4 trips into the Alaska range and climbed on other objectives. I feel that I have enough experience in the range to provide general advice such as what I've given. 

This sounds like an odd source, but read the Goal Setting chapter of the "Rock Climbers Training Manual". The authors of that book (though more known for their hangboard habits and hard rock climbs) climbed the Cassin, and have a section in their book discussing how they set incremental sub-goals to build the prequisite experience and prepare for the Cassin.  Seems like exactly what you are looking for?

NateCwrote:

Acclimatize on the West Buttress, and Upper West Rib first (ideally going to the summit from 14 in a day without it crushing you as an indicator of fitness) 

The vast majority of those that do that (go to the summit) go home afterwards. Pick any excuse however minor and they say screw it as they have already bagged the summit. So it is Hi Ho Hi Ho off to KIA we go. One has to stay hungry if one wants the route.

Martin Brzozowski wrote:

So far I have an idea of what I’ll do for the next year, but beyond that is where y’all come in. July I’ll be on Kautz or N. Ridge Baker, yes lugging all gear to the top. August will be tetons and winds. Then this winter Canmore. Next summer back to Yosemite for more big walls (not very transferable but other goals). Then hopefully later that summer spend some time in the Canadian Rockies focusing on grade V snow/ ice/ mixed routes

You should probably look at what constitutes a Grade V in the Canadian Rockies. Here is a Grade IV Edith Cavell which getting it is a Canadian Rockies feather in one's cap. A Grade V is Andromeda Strain

Allen Sandersonwrote:

The vast majority of those that do that (go to the summit) go home afterwards. Pick any excuse however minor and they say screw it as they have already bagged the summit. So it is Hi Ho Hi Ho off to KIA we go. One has to stay hungry if one wants the route.

Very true, and that is why when we did it we did not acclimatize on the W. Buttress first, but just went straight to the Cassin.  We knew we wouldn't be setting any speed record, but at least we weren't tired from having climbed the West Buttress first.  I really admire those who blast up the thing like it is a day climb, but I know I couldn't have done it that way.

Ric Ottewrote:

Very true, and that is why when we did it we did not acclimatize on the W. Buttress first, but just went straight to the Cassin.  We knew we wouldn't be setting any speed record, but at least we weren't tired from having climbed the West Buttress first.  I really admire those who blast up the thing like it is a day climb, but I know I couldn't have done it that way.

We acclimated on the West Butt with a couple of walks up higher but still took five days on the route. Our team was "Old and in the Way" with the average age being 43. I was the youngster at 36. Had stellar weather the whole time. Some young bucks started up behind us a few days later and whined about following our footsteps.

Kudos on doing the Muldrow and going up and over. Years ago I looked at the Pioneer Ridge but went into the East Buttress instead (failed twice).

Allen Sandersonwrote:

The vast majority of those that do that (go to the summit) go home afterwards. Pick any excuse however minor and they say screw it as they have already bagged the summit. So it is Hi Ho Hi Ho off to KIA we go. One has to stay hungry if one wants the route.

The Summit has nothing to do with why they go home afterwards. Statistically speaking, the vast majority of suitors never step foot on the route (and also don't summit).  Acclimatizing with a summit doesn't really have much to do with whether one gets on the route or not. The ones who truly want to climb the route will get on it given the opportunity. 

You make these statements as though they are absolute. I know more than half a dozen teams of people who have done the route after summiting via WB or UWR. They wanted to do the Cassin, not stand on top Denali. There's a difference. 

Nate, my comments are not as though they are absolute. I said The vast majority. That is not an absolute. Further, it is my observation from 5 seasons over 16 years in the Alaska range. Much of which comes from talking to multiple NPS rangers whom I have known personally. Some who have been or were there for decades. So while as you note some do go to the summit to acclimate before doing another route such as the Cassin many more do the same then end up not getting on the route. I know of one person who did that not one but twice. So yes getting the summit can and does have do with why they may go home afterwards. Doing the Cassin does mean wanting to stand on top Denali. They go hand in hand. 

Allen Sandersonwrote:

You should probably look at what constitutes a Grade V in the Canadian Rockies. Here is a Grade IV Edith Cavell which getting it is a Canadian Rockies feather in one's cap. A Grade V is Andromeda Strain

Yeah, grade V Rockies routes are going to be shorter in total distance and lower elevation but climbing any of them is going to be much more difficult and serious than the Cassin. 

Just saying, I don’t think you can make a plan for climbing the Cassin without actually climbing in the Alaska range. Preferably on Denali itself. The W Butt would be a good place to start. Maybe after that you find out you don’t even really dig Alaska climbing. The NW Butt to the N Summit would be some great training. Beckey Route on Hunter. Ham and Eggs. Maybe if you’re lucky, you get to weather out a real storm, something  you’re not going to learn on Liberty Ridge or the Black Ice. Working on your number grades is useful, but you also need to put in some time on mountains that are actually trying to kill you.

Just climbed the Cassin this season, here's a few thoughts:

• Our whole team lead WI5/M5, and I wouldn't go up there with anyone who didn't.  Sure, you don't need to climb that hard on the Cassin, but is the south face of Denali really the place you want to be cruxing out?
• You want a lot of experience on routes in the alpine where you need to make your own decisions.  This means getting off the trade routes (regardless of how hard they are) so you need to pick your own route across the glacier, do your own routefinding, etc.  Climbing more obscure routes in remote ranges (Pickets, Alaska, etc.) is one way to do this.  Kautz, Liberty, and N. Ridge of Baker, etc. are too popular to satisfy this requirement, so you should have definitely climbed all of them, but they're not enough.  
• Have LOTS of days on glaciers of all types before you try this (maybe 50-100 days on real glaciers, minimum?).  
• You want to be REALLY fit.  We were pretty fit, and we still got our asses kicked.  Just getting to 14k on the WB is a lot of manual labor.  You should be no stranger to days with 10,000 feet of vert, and 24 hour pushes.
• There are lots of approaches to the Cassin, and they all have their merits.  We approached via the Seattle Ramp, mainly because we wanted to spend lots of time high on the west buttress to be very well acclimated, and this worked for us.
• Ignore anyone who claims to know your motivation for being there.  3/4 of our team went to the summit on the WB before we climbed the Cassin, and it didn't influence our motivation or decision-making one bit, because we were there to climb the Cassin, not brag about standing on top of Denali.  Motivations differ and painting with a broad brush isn't that valuable.
• It was the first trip to the Alaska range for my entire team.  Having prior Alaska experience would certainly help, but it's not strictly necessary IF you fulfill the other prereqs and have lots of diverse general experience.

The Cassin is an amazing route and something worth shooting for, good luck!

Lol if a stranger on MP can deter me odds are I wouldn’t even get off the plane. It’s actually good because the people who shouldn’t be there might get discouraged. People who are serious don’t care. It’s like all the MP people who told me 2 years ago I couldn’t big wall because I was just starting trad, even though my big wall goals were 2 years ahead from then. I just want to set realistic goals based on where I’m at, that’s all

Thanks for all the great feedback! I really appreciate it, super helpful

I would think some time at high altitude would be beneficial as well. Denali was my first time above 14.5 or so and 17 and above kicked my butt!  Did acongogua a few years later and the altitude felt much more casual at least till 21 so I think there is value in having experience at  altitude. West butt would be the best way to get both expose to high altitude and some time on multi day winter stuff but u could easily do something like cotapoxi or orizaba in an extended weekend and do some multi day ski touring internationally seeking out cold conditions.