I loved the nice touch of the videos, and the comparison to your experience on Green Butte.
As far as comparing difficulties, though, I have some thoughts, which could be good to put into the route pages in some way. First, I think the difficulty of Casaval Ridge is more constant, with only the difficulty of the short Cat/Ratwalk crux being significantly affected by the amount of snow. The full Green Butte or Sargents Ridge difficulties are greatly affected by snowfall, though, as in lesser snow, the ridge crest is sharper and requires much more mixed scrambling (based on my experience in Jan vs. Feb vs. your Apr photos).
Also, most of Casaval Ridge has more moderate slopes with better runouts, while Green Butte & esp. the full Sargents Ridge has much longer sections of steep slopes, and the fall potential is worse, requiring one to be more vigilant for much more of the route. So while Casaval has a short, distinct crux that can be bypassed, the Green Butte/Sargents Ridge has long, drawn out cruxes that cannot be bypassed unless you drop far below the ridge crest.
Marmaduke - May 17, 2010 2:38 pm - Voted 10/10
Great WorkEnjoyed!! Just watched the video, very cool>
PellucidWombat - May 21, 2010 5:30 pm - Voted 10/10
Fun trip reportI loved the nice touch of the videos, and the comparison to your experience on Green Butte.
As far as comparing difficulties, though, I have some thoughts, which could be good to put into the route pages in some way. First, I think the difficulty of Casaval Ridge is more constant, with only the difficulty of the short Cat/Ratwalk crux being significantly affected by the amount of snow. The full Green Butte or Sargents Ridge difficulties are greatly affected by snowfall, though, as in lesser snow, the ridge crest is sharper and requires much more mixed scrambling (based on my experience in Jan vs. Feb vs. your Apr photos).
PellucidWombat - May 21, 2010 5:32 pm - Voted 10/10
Re: Fun trip reportAlso, most of Casaval Ridge has more moderate slopes with better runouts, while Green Butte & esp. the full Sargents Ridge has much longer sections of steep slopes, and the fall potential is worse, requiring one to be more vigilant for much more of the route. So while Casaval has a short, distinct crux that can be bypassed, the Green Butte/Sargents Ridge has long, drawn out cruxes that cannot be bypassed unless you drop far below the ridge crest.