South Face- Redoubt Secrets

The south route is not difficult but Becky’s description of the summit is obscure. After crossing the Depot-Redoubt Creek divide, drop down around the “Flying Buttress” to climb the second gully through the lower cliffs, right where Beckey’s dotted line shows the route. Climb to the top left side of the snow beneath the summit crags. Here a “freeway ledge”, not visible from below, leads up and to the right. The ledge dead-ends in a prominent, exposed, dirty gully whose ascent reaches the sling marked summit of “Wedoubt Peak” described some years ago in Signposts magazine. Don’t go there. Instead, back up 30’ and scramble up just west of a prominent rock pinnacle. This easy, protected ascent leads to a broad landing with views of the north face. Belay here and climb directly up easy stair step ledges, then up and to the right above the north face. A few last exposed steps further up and to the right feature good views of the north face ice fall far below, and reach a secure north gully that climbs a few feet to a cannonball hole with a secure belay stance. The last few feet to the summit can be protected from here. The rock pinnacle and the dirty gully are easily seen from the approach to the south but the ledge is difficult to see from below. The cannonball hole and the broad landing with the belay stance are easily seen from the Depot Creek valley above the Falls, and can be seen (with a magnifying glass) in Beckey’s north face photo. This ascent route cannot be rappelled without a shaky traverse from the north gully to the stair step ledges. Instead, climb through the cannonball hole (cool) and rappel the south face of the summit pinnacle. While a long rope might or might not reach the freeway ledge in a single rope length, our party rappelled about 30’, walked 20’ east and set up another rappel that dropped us into our ascent route west of the rock pinnacle.