Trip Report
Mount Stuart/West Ridge
- Fri, Aug 8, 2014
- Mount Stuart/West Ridge
- Climbing
Started at 0530, weather clear and warm. Approached from the Ingals Lake route and found the third gully over for our accent. The gully was much longer than we expected. Towards the top make sure you stay to the right. The climbing seems easier to veer to the left, but that puts you into the wrong gully. Stay right at all times. Route finding was the hardest part. We brought pictures of the route which helped tremendously. Very little Krains are present Some snow was present in the gully which provided water, but by mid-August I would think that might be all gone. Recommend to water up with three liters from Ingals lake.
Bivouac just before the traverse to the West Ridge Notch. Started at 6am the next morning and due to route finding issues still took us 1.5 hours to the notch. Attempted several different routes up to the summit. North side the winds were blowing 40+ MPH so did not attempt that side. We were trying to find the 5.4 route up but instead went up something more like a 5.8 and then a short scramble up 30ft. However, due to the time and unsure of the correct route we turned around and went back down the nearest gully. Descending the gully is not recommended, takes a lot longer than going up the gully. We ended up having to bivouac another night than planned.
Highly recommend to go with someone that knows the route or get detailed route description. Verify the correct route up from the notch depending on your skill level.
We returned back over Longs Pass which did not take us long back to the car.