West Slope

A view of the entire West Slope of Chief Mountain. The route traverses the Squaw-Chief saddle in the foreground and heads up the large, loose scree fields blanketing the entire face. We opted to angle left and intercept the Solid North Ridge Route, which required some stretches of Class III & IV climbing to attain the desired notch in the summit ridge. From the notch, a great climber's trail can be followed all the way to the summit. For the descent, it's easiest to head directly down from the notch into a large scree gully; this leads to a massive scree field which provides a quick return to the Squaw-Chief saddle. Refer to this photo for a route diagram from this vantage point. September 1, 2009