Ionia NE Spur

Varied climbing and scrambling leads up the NE side of Ionia. Some pitches are very loose rock, and others are fantastic cracks with fun quartzite features. The upper pitches become more interesting, while the lower ones are more of a scramble. Pitch out as you chose, there is not really a fixed amount of pitches.

P1-3(ish) - find a way from snow to rock and climb up a short face with featured holds. Dig around for a decent belay. 

Scramble up and left under a large snow patch, and continue scrambling until you reach a large “tooth” feature on the ridgeline which you should be able to see up and on your left. You may want to add another pitch here as the traverse over the gully is rather loose and exposed.

P4 - once on the edge of the ridge and standing at the base of the small “tooth” feature behind you, climb left and around a corner onto a lovely low angle face with interesting holds (one of the good pitches), and then continue up more low angle slabs and belay at the base of a large headwall.

P5 - Many options exist that lead up to the next large bench, but the most obvious one goes straight up the headwall on LOOSE face holds, then up some corners that are much better protected.

P6 - More low angle slabs and scrambling lead to the base of another large wall. Climb up and right in a chimney to more fun cracks, then traverse left on an easy rock rail. Fun exposure over to the right side!

P7 - Traverse over the top of this sub-summit and downclimb or make a short rappel to a small Col.

P8-10(ish) - Climb up and along the final ridge to the summit.

Head over the Lycia / Serratus Col to the Ionia glacier. Traverse the glacier to the toe of the Ionia buttress, on the far right side where rock meets snow. 

Standard alpine rack, slings and cord for anchors. Apparently a bolted rappel descent exists but we did not find it, so left webbing as other parties did too.