NE Face and Ridge (Pt Dutton)

This climb is an adventure and is not for a slow party or you will be benighted. My party (of 3) tried this February 9th 2023 and were snowed off of pitch 3 and had to leave nearly every peice of equipment and both ropes just to get into the NEE gully. We came back as a party of two on February 11th, retrieved the gear and ropes and summit Pt. Dutton. It took us 11 hours. This is a great climb for a fast party looking to summit Pt Dutton when the North face has too much snow.

The beta written below is a rough guide to this climb. The first half of the climb on the slabs can be easier or harder than the climbing beta I used. Bewared this climb is mentally and physically taxing. If you get lost anywhere on the slabs, you can likely wonder up to the base of pitch 14.

This beta is a link up of several climbs. The first 600ft is possibly a first ascent. Once you get to the base of 14 you can see pitons and tat all the way to the summit.

Most pitches have a single difficult move, usually topping a roof or traversing a slab. Good luck.

Pitches 1-8 500-600ft 5.0-5.7 Climb up and slowly go left until you reach a big ledge with very old tat. The climbing is easily “solo-able” and has two comity moves with ledges below and after.

Pitch 9 5.8 100ft This is where the climbing starts. Climb the dirty crack until you find a large chimney. The easier belay is on the flake before entering in the small gully.

Pitch 10 5.6+ 80ft climb either the chimney/off width (has not been climbed) or the right rising crack system until you find a large flat rock, belay from here.

Pitch 11 5.4 160ft Traverse up and right until you find a larger split rock. If you get to the N ridge you have gone too far, if you find yourself under 5.9 R/X looking slabs with loose rocks, keep going

Pitch 12 5.7 180ft Go as far as you can practically straight up. Belay when you run out of rope at a nice ledge. Remember to sling your gear…

Pitch 13 5.7 130ft Continue until you find the corner system head wall. Belay at the base. Congratulations you summit the slabs and have no merged with the famous NE climb (little to no description about this climb) You know you are in the right place if you come across two pitons halfway up.

Pitch 14 5.9+/5.10 80ft Climb the corner with the single crack in the corner. Belay at the horizontal seem after exiting the corner. This is the hardest pitch and is PG.

Pitch 15 5.9+/5.10 100ft Climb up the arete and belay off the tat. The crux is mounting each bulge.

Pitch 16 5.7 160ft Climb up the face until you are on the knife ridge, traverse standing up or straddling the arete (no shame) until you come to another set of tat anchors.

Pitch 17 5.6 80ft traverse the arete until you come to awkward section of rock. Belay off a nearby horn.

Pitch 18-19 5.6 250ft Dip below the arete on the climbers right (North) side to go around a short steep tower. Finagle your way around jagged rocks until you are at the base of the final head wall. Belay at the ledge.

Pitch 20 5.9 120ft climb around to the N/NW side and climb the cracks to gain the false summit.

Pitch 21 5.6 100ft climb the rocks around to the lookers right of the summit. Continue into the notch and belay off a block in between the summits.

Pitch 22 5.fun 30ft either unrope or go up and down with a rope to the summit! There is no plaque or anchors.

Decend via two double length rappels into the Chosy Gully. The first rappel is in the notch in between the two summits. The second rappel is skiers right 160ft down.

After making it off the climb descend the skree gully until you cannot. Hop onto the slabs skiers left. Take that to the bottom defending down and left until you are off of Pt Dutton.

Starts at the base of the slabs on the North East wall.