Clements-- South and East Faces

Taken from the Hidden Lake trail, this photo shows the complicated south ridge of Clements. If you look at this and feel unsure about it, go for the longer but much easier and safer west ridge route. Better yet, if you have the time, climb Reynolds first so you can study Clements from a high position, too, and then do Clements the next day. Although Clements is lower than Reynolds, which is the reason I climbed Clements before Reynolds, all of Clements' nonstandard routes are harder than the north face/east couloir route on Reynolds. The standard route on Clements is more exposed than the standard route on Reynolds is, but the Class 3 scrambling is harder on the Reynolds route. In this photo, the rock finger is visible, and the "teeth" are above and right (center of photo). The route may not look that complicated from this perspective, but it is a very different story when you are actually up there. Glacier National Park, MT--July 2006