Staircase Arete

Staircase Arete is an intriguing feature on Mount Moran’s vast south face, located just to the east of Laughing Lion Falls. It’s a full value Teton’s adventure - a mixed bag of loose, variable rock in spots, excellent climbing on fantastic stone in others, incredible position, and a complex and tedious descent back into Leigh Canyon from its intersection with the Southeast Ridge (or else continue up the Southeast Ridge toward Drizzlepuss and the CMC route).

There is not a lot of beta out there for Staircase Arete, so for this reason, I thought adding it to the MP database could provide an opportunity to centralize some more information and stories about this seldom climbed route.

In the 1963 AAJ, Dave Dornan wrote regarding the first ascent, “We [Dornan and Al Read] first tried this fine ridge in 1957 after noticing it from the South Buttress route. It is located between the south ridge of Drizzlepuss and the waterfalls to the right of the Blackfin route. The first step of the ridge is about four leads of long and moderate fifth class. The second step has a short direct-aid pitch, and the third has a difficult fifth-class pitch. The rest of the ridge is of moderate difficulty; the last 100 feet were climbed by traversing to the left to avoid difficulties. The climb ends on the south ridge of Drizzlepuss. Although longer, it compares to the Jensen Ridge on Symmetry Spire in difficulty.”

After climbing Staircase Arete in July, 2024, I would say it is much longer and more involved than the Jensen Ridge of Symmetry. We climbed nine roped pitches (some of those pitches were 100+ meters of simul-climbing) to reach the intersection of the Southeast Ridge where a large cairn (noted in the description for the Jackson-Ortenburger guide) marks a steep descent to the east, back into Leigh Canyon. In general, it felt more like a IV 5.9 day than III 5.8 (especially if one takes the route to the summit of Drizzlepuss).

From where Staircase Arete ends and the Southeast Ridge continues, it was hard to know how involved it would have been to continue up the knife-edge ridge toward another steep buttress that seemed to block easy access to the large “bowl” feature on the south face of Moran. From our perspective at the time, continuing up the ridge to where it was possible to traverse to CMC camp, was going to add hours… and the descent into Leigh Canyon seemed faster. Having now done this descent, I don’t believe I would ever want to do it again – It’s long, exposed, tedious, with lots of consequential down-climbing, loose rock and scree, and a constant mind numbing puzzle trying to navigate the easiest path and avoid rappels.

Staircase Arete:

Approach up Leigh Canyon as for all other routes on the South Buttress of Moran. Near the base of Laughing Lion Falls, hike upslope to a spring flowing out of the wall to the east. Scramble up exposed 4th class terrain in dark rock to either access a narrow ledge up and right (variation pitches), or continue up and left and rope up below a prominent weakness in dark rock, closer to the crest of the ridge (original route).

P1-P3. Climb the weakness in dark rock via the path of least resistance (5.7-5.8). Pull through a loose bulge on the second pitch and belay above. The third pitch leads through some steeper, loose rock to a gain a prominent chimney/gully feature up and right. Belay at the top of the first step.

P4-P5+. From this point, rock quality improves dramatically and the climbing is fun! Continue up clean slabs and face near the crest of the ridge. Pull some 5.9 moves (old A1 section?) on the face and belay above. Follow clean cracks and good rock on the left edge of the ridge (fun 5.7/5.8ish laybacking and jamming). Eventually climb a tricky 5.8/5.9 move in a shallow seam above a small ledge (old A1 section?) and continue up easier terrain to belay at the top of the second step. This section is probably three or four pitches without simul-climbing.

P6-P10+ Continue up the long ridge above… probably half a dozen pitches without simul-climbing. Generally speaking, stay on the ridge crest, looking for the best rock. The climbing is generally low to mid-5th class with a handful of steeper and more technical sections thrown in. Eventually, gain a treed ledge on the left side of the ridge. A final pitch through a prominent chimney/weakness leads to the intersection of the Southeast Ridge above (look for a cairn).

The Adventure Continues: Two options provide further adventure, no matter which option you choose. Either continue up the Southeast Ridge toward Drizzlepuss and the CMC route (terrain and timeframe unknown), or descend a large drainage to the east, just above the cairn on the ridge, which eventually leads back into Leigh Canyon. This takes at least a couple hours, and although many sections can be down-climbed, it would be best to expect to do some rappels - bring some extra material.

Some notes for future ascents:

Starting: The current Jackson-Ortenburger guides mentions an optional start to Staircase Arete: “An alternative start to the climb can obtained by climbing corner systems on the south face of the first step. The rock is superb, and nearly three additional pitches of climbing can be done, generally 5.9 to 5.10 in difficulty.” This face is very noticeable from the base and looks like better climbing than the original route. If someone found a nice line through here, linked with the excellent pitches above, it would definitely increase the quality of Staircase Arete. 

From the spring, scramble up exposed 4th class terrain in dark rock to reach a narrow ledge up and right. A fixed pin marks an old anchor on the ledge. Directly above, a wide “ear-flake” feature looks like 5.10 climbing from below, but may require a few bigger cams. After false-starting a few times in this zone, burning daylight, we opted to move left into the original line (obvious weakness in dark rock near the crest of the ridge). 

Finishing: From the intersection of Staircase Arete and the Southeast Ridge, the ridge continues up toward a steep buttress along the ridge line that appears to guard the broad “bowl” feature above. After our ascent, we noticed that the Jackson-Ortenburger guide states (regarding the top of the Southeast Ridge route): “An unusual 90m horizontal cave on the west side provides an easy traverse into a gully, from which an easy walk leads back to the crest. Then scramble to the summit of Drizzlepuss, where the CMC route is joined.” Perhaps bypassing this terrain on the ridge is easier than it appears?? We were not able to confirm or deny this since we chose to descend back into Leigh Canyon from the top of Staircase Arete.

The current Jackson-Ortenburger guide also notes a possible traverse left (west) somewhere around the “third step” to gain access to the lower portion of the Blackfin rappels. It states, “This is likely the easiest way off the climb.” This traverse is somewhere below the intersection of the Staircase Arete and the Southeast Ridge, where the east facing drainage descends back into Leigh Canyon.

Perhaps the variation pitches at the beginning of the route, combined with the excellent climbing on the "second step,” and a quicker descent via the Blackfin rappels is the best way to climb Staircase Arete in the future? Perhaps we should have continued along the Southeast Ridge to intersect CMC for a more enjoyable descent? I don’t know. I'd like to go back sometime and iron it all out. Regardless, the Staircase Arete is definitely a cool feature on Moran.

Enjoy the adventure!

Approach as for all South Buttress routes on Moran. Near Laughing Lion Falls, locate a spring flowing out of the wall to the east. Scramble from here.