Type: Ice, Alpine, 9000 ft (2727 m)
FA: Hans Fuhrer, Heinie Fuhrer, Roger Toll, Harry Myers
Page Views: 51,206 total · 245/month
Shared By: Brejcha on Jan 11, 2007 · Updates
Admins: Nate Ball, Jon Nelson, Micah Klesick, Zachary Winters

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Description Suggest change

The approach begins at Paradise (elv: 5400ish). Hike up the paved trail for about a mile to Glacier Vista. Locate a climbers trail to the left (west???) and descend to the Nisqually Glacier. Cross the Nisqually. You should head for the base of an obvious gully. Scramble up the boulder filled gully. This spits you out onto the left side of the Wilson Glacier. Follow the rolling snow fields aiming for a snowfield shaped like a turtle. There is good camping at the base of this snowfield (elv. 9000ish). Climb the Turtle snowfield and aim for its left paw (do turtles have paws?). There is a good camp on the rocks near this paw. (elv. 11,000ish). From this camp follow the climbers trail on the rocks to a short rappel which may have a fixed line. This puts you at the bottom of the ice cliff drainage gully. Cross the chute, aiming for the obvious snow/ice ramp. This is the first "technical" pitch. It is probably about 35-40 degrees and really stepped out, you'll probably only need one tool. It's about 400 feet before easy glacier travel resumes. The second pitch is a few hundred yards above the first. It's steeper, and not nearly as stepped out. it's around 45-50 degrees. I had to use two tools on this pitch. It's about 400 feet long as well, but I'm not sure because we simul climbed it. When you top the pitch out glacier travel resumes, head up towards the false summit, then head for the top.

This beta is from a mid-august ascent

Though many people rate this route as AI2-AI3 it is not. The route is AI1 and at best AI2 as the two ice slopes are never more than 45-50 degrees. Ratings for alpine ice (AI) are similar to waterfall ice (WI):

WI1: Low angle ice; no tools required.
WI2: Consistent 60 degree ice with possible bulges; good protection.

The NPS has some excellent route information: https://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/upload/Kautz-Glacier-Routebrief.pdf

Protection Suggest change

a few screws and a picket or 2

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