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Southwest Face
5.9 YDS 5c French 17 Ewbanks VI UIAA 17 ZA HVS 5a British Mod. Snow
Avg: 3 from 1
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Routes in Early Morning Spire
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Southwest Face T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a Mod. Snow |
| Type: | Trad, Snow, Alpine, 1400 ft (424 m), 8 pitches, Grade IV |
| GPS: | 48.5511, -121.14458 |
| FA: | To base of headwall: Richard Emerson and Tom Hornbein (Sep. 1971); ridge crest variation: Gary Brill, Lowell Skoog, Mark Bebie (Aug. 1981) |
| Page Views: | 63 total · 9/month |
| Shared By: | Ben Hyver on Aug 12, 2025 |
| Admins: | Jon Nelson, Zachary Winters, Mitchell McAuslan |
Description
An adventurous route on surprisingly good quality rock for the area, this climb follows the major crack system splitting the Southwest Face, before trending right to gain the ridge crest when the face steepens. Climbing on the face is mostly mid-5th with a few harder moves, plus a 5.9 crux roof (wet). After gaining the ridge crest, the difficulty eases but the rock quality worsens significantly.
Location
Approaching from Eldorado Creek and the Inspiration Glacier, cross the McAllister Glacier and climb over the Dorado Needle col onto the remnants of the Marble Creek Glacier. Descend to around 6,000 ft before heading North over a brushy shoulder, then continue over talus until reaching the obvious snowfield below the peak. Access the route either directly beneath the crack system or from higher up on the left.
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