On purely a hunch, heading southwest from Four Point Lake, I left the Coleman Ridge Trail sooner than I was supposed to. Rather than ascending the climbers trail leading up the south slopes of the southeast ridge, I followed the small stream that leads up ~200' elevation to a small unnamed lake (7088') located in a basin due east of the Remmel summit. I followed the rocky shoreline on the left side of the lake until reaching the inlet on its northwest side. From there, I ascended steep but easy grassy slopes for several hundred feet until reaching a rocky upper basin. A small rocky gully could be seen to climbers left, a short distance above. I went up the gully, and soon ended up at the ridgetop of the southeast ridge, *on the climber's trail* (~7750'). Then I followed the standard route the rest of the summit approach.
I never needed to scramble (i.e. use my hands) for the rocky/boulder sections, although some people might do so, so I would rate this as high YDS Class 1 (possibly low Class 2 at worst). At first I thought this ascent delayed me, but my descent of the mountain completely via the climbers trail quickly showed me that my ascent route from Lake 7088 was quicker and more direct than the standard route. With that said, I am certain the descent via the climbers trail was much easier on my body than descending rocky/bouldery terrain would be. Doing this loop made me enjoy a lot more variety and terrain.
Redwic - Aug 14, 2011 10:02 am - Hasn't voted
Possible Alternate Quicker AscentOn purely a hunch, heading southwest from Four Point Lake, I left the Coleman Ridge Trail sooner than I was supposed to. Rather than ascending the climbers trail leading up the south slopes of the southeast ridge, I followed the small stream that leads up ~200' elevation to a small unnamed lake (7088') located in a basin due east of the Remmel summit. I followed the rocky shoreline on the left side of the lake until reaching the inlet on its northwest side. From there, I ascended steep but easy grassy slopes for several hundred feet until reaching a rocky upper basin. A small rocky gully could be seen to climbers left, a short distance above. I went up the gully, and soon ended up at the ridgetop of the southeast ridge, *on the climber's trail* (~7750'). Then I followed the standard route the rest of the summit approach.
I never needed to scramble (i.e. use my hands) for the rocky/boulder sections, although some people might do so, so I would rate this as high YDS Class 1 (possibly low Class 2 at worst). At first I thought this ascent delayed me, but my descent of the mountain completely via the climbers trail quickly showed me that my ascent route from Lake 7088 was quicker and more direct than the standard route. With that said, I am certain the descent via the climbers trail was much easier on my body than descending rocky/bouldery terrain would be. Doing this loop made me enjoy a lot more variety and terrain.