Sarah,
I climbed the north ridge from backpackers pass, enroute to Sunbeam and Febbas afterwards, and the lower part of the ridge is definitely the crux. Getting around the low cliff guarding the upper north ridge can be done one of two ways. Option 1 - You can traverse a small ledge starting a few feet above the pass below the cliff and making a slabby, exposed traverse around its base to easier south facing terrain after rounding a steep rib. There is a very exposed 6 foot step you climb just before reaching the rib that required a hand jam...probably one low 5th move, and the slabs being so covered in lichen would be death defying if wet (which they were still damp on our ascent due to rain the whole day before). Option 2 - You can climb a steep, narrow gully to the left of the cliff visible from the pass, as it looked like this would meet the north ridge above it. It did, but there was a couple low 5th slabby, wet moves to bypass a chockstone in the gully. I took this gully up, and the first option down. The rest of the route was class 3 following the more mellow and broken, talus strewn upper southwest facing aspect 10-30 feet below the crest. A small horizontal narrow section of ridgecrest is encountered shortly before the summit and ends at a notch, where the final 100 feet or so ascends class 3 rock back on the left (east) side of the crest. This was a really fun route actually, and only took about an hour and change round trip from Backpackers Pass once we waited there for 3 hours to let the rock dry!
Matt Lemke - Aug 16, 2020 8:18 pm - Hasn't voted
North Ridge RouteSarah,
I climbed the north ridge from backpackers pass, enroute to Sunbeam and Febbas afterwards, and the lower part of the ridge is definitely the crux. Getting around the low cliff guarding the upper north ridge can be done one of two ways. Option 1 - You can traverse a small ledge starting a few feet above the pass below the cliff and making a slabby, exposed traverse around its base to easier south facing terrain after rounding a steep rib. There is a very exposed 6 foot step you climb just before reaching the rib that required a hand jam...probably one low 5th move, and the slabs being so covered in lichen would be death defying if wet (which they were still damp on our ascent due to rain the whole day before). Option 2 - You can climb a steep, narrow gully to the left of the cliff visible from the pass, as it looked like this would meet the north ridge above it. It did, but there was a couple low 5th slabby, wet moves to bypass a chockstone in the gully. I took this gully up, and the first option down. The rest of the route was class 3 following the more mellow and broken, talus strewn upper southwest facing aspect 10-30 feet below the crest. A small horizontal narrow section of ridgecrest is encountered shortly before the summit and ends at a notch, where the final 100 feet or so ascends class 3 rock back on the left (east) side of the crest. This was a really fun route actually, and only took about an hour and change round trip from Backpackers Pass once we waited there for 3 hours to let the rock dry!