Route:  Mt. Stuart/Razorback Ridge
Climbed:  Aug 1997



Equipment: Ice axe, crampons, standard rack.  Jurisdiction: Alpine
Lakes Wilderness Map: USGS Mt. Stuart.  References: Cascade Alpine
Guide I, pp 278.


Approach: From the end of the North Fork of the Teanaway River Road
hike to the north end of Ingals lake, circling the lake on the W side.
Camp in the meadows below the outlet (camping not allowed at lake).
Could be buggy.  From the meadow make a rising traverse to Stuart Pass
Ridge then ascend a climber's trail up the ridge toward Stuart.  Drop
left off the ridge and cross the basin to Goat pass at 7,600 ft.  Good
bivi sites, no water.  Traverse to the base of Razorback ridge, in the
middle of the Stuart Glacier, just right of the Stuart Glacier
coulior.  Scramble up the first 50 ft or so.


Climbing Route: The first pitch works over blocks and into a right;
facing corner.  The second pitch climbs this corner.  There are three
vertical steps to this corner.  The third step is the crux of the
route and starts with a hard 5.8 (5.9?) off-width which then eases a
bit and constricts to fist then hand crack.  Can be protected by small
nuts in crack to the right.  Above the climbing varies with most
pitches having some solid mid 5th class steps in them.  Stray left of
the crest for easier climbing on slabs or right for steep face
climbing with nauseating exposure.  Excellent bivi ledge on 7th pitch
can squeeze up to 4 climbers.  After 11 full pitches, top out just
west of the West Ridge Notch.  Good bivi sites round here.  Follow the
west ridge route to the summit in 5 more pitches.  About 16 pitches
total.  Peer down on the route and ponder how anything so steep could
be called a ridge.

Descent: Scramble to the false summit.  Descend the steep snow then
keep right and keep right again through sparse trees to enter the
Cascadian coulior.  From the base, hiking west on Ingals Cr. trail a
short distance will bring you to a fork.  The left crosses Ingals Cr.
for an escape over Long's Pass.  The right leads back to Ingals lake.

Elevation: Trailhead to base of route: 3,500', Base to Summit: 1,600';

Time: Seattle to trailhead 2.5 hours.  Trailhead to base camp 3 hours.
Base camp base of route 3 hours.  Base to summit 10 hours.  Summit to
Ingals Cr. trail 2.5 hours.  Back to base camp 1 hour.

Comments: This route is climbed once for every 50 ascents of the North
Ridge.  It is longer, harder, and less aesthetic.  But don't let that
put you off: it provides interesting, challenging climbing on very
good rock, in a beautiful setting.






[Route description written by Tom Unger]