Great views and a fantastic ridgewalk complete with a very entertaining ~10m exposed downclimb. Someone once commented that entire sections of the ridge appear to be on the verge of collapse (the underside of the slab has eroded inward). The resulting views are sublime
MtnMagic - Oct 21, 2007 9:59 pm Date Climbed: Nov 1, 2003
Southest ridge
A great scramble. Started around 4pm. Had to run up and down the peak to avoid the darkness. A little bit of snow on the downclimb on the ridge which made it exciting. Downclimbed the west ridge. As I recall there were a couple of complicated bits on that descent. A good afternoon!
couchclimber - Jul 24, 2006 3:08 am Date Climbed: Jul 23, 2006
scramble route
okay scramble, the crux on Mt. Baldy to me seemed more exposed and harder than this chimney crux. Exposed ridge walking was short but quite fun. I encountered more problems going down the optional descent route than the ascent route. Those dirt covered slick water worn slabs in the very narrow gully made for some interesting scrambling. This gully is about as wide as the narrowest part on tower of babel but 20 times the length so any rockfall in this gully would be deadly if there are people below. I don't recommend the optional descent route! Oh, I used the well worn trail for Arethusa Cirque on the right (south)side of the drainage and it took me only 10 mins to get down. Compared that with the 40 mins it took me to bushwhack just to get to the treeline I would say using the trail for Arethusa Cirque for ascent would be a lot faster.
Route Climbed: SE Scramble route Date Climbed: August 2004
Great fun! I went with scrambling partner Andrew Nugara. The day started so misty, we could not see the ridge (or mountain) until we reached the chimney. The chimney downclimb was easier than expected, and the ridge scrambling, varied and interesting. At the crux listed in the Kane book, we backtracked about 30 feet and scrambled down to an exposed, rubbly ledge on the west side of the crux. After that, it was a walk to the summit. There was no register in 2004 either. On return, we traversed the steep slabs below the ridge, and descended some of the most southerly gullies to reach the cirque.
Route Climbed: Southeast Ridge Date Climbed: July 20, 2005
I went up the wrong peak originally, after hiking back and forth like a yoyo with map and guidebook in hand. One of those circumstances where I would have been better off with just the map. So I came back several days later (ran into Robin Williams filming “RV” on the road) and did it right. The first peak I went up had tons of cairns at the summit, so go figure. This is a fun fast route if you have the proper beta. The descent can be tricky as described well on the mountain page. Cheers
NNourian - Oct 10, 2016 9:10 pm
Route: Scramble via SE ridgeGreat views and a fantastic ridgewalk complete with a very entertaining ~10m exposed downclimb. Someone once commented that entire sections of the ridge appear to be on the verge of collapse (the underside of the slab has eroded inward). The resulting views are sublime
MtnMagic - Oct 21, 2007 9:59 pm Date Climbed: Nov 1, 2003
Southest ridgeA great scramble. Started around 4pm. Had to run up and down the peak to avoid the darkness. A little bit of snow on the downclimb on the ridge which made it exciting. Downclimbed the west ridge. As I recall there were a couple of complicated bits on that descent. A good afternoon!
couchclimber - Jul 24, 2006 3:08 am Date Climbed: Jul 23, 2006
scramble routeokay scramble, the crux on Mt. Baldy to me seemed more exposed and harder than this chimney crux. Exposed ridge walking was short but quite fun. I encountered more problems going down the optional descent route than the ascent route. Those dirt covered slick water worn slabs in the very narrow gully made for some interesting scrambling. This gully is about as wide as the narrowest part on tower of babel but 20 times the length so any rockfall in this gully would be deadly if there are people below. I don't recommend the optional descent route! Oh, I used the well worn trail for Arethusa Cirque on the right (south)side of the drainage and it took me only 10 mins to get down. Compared that with the 40 mins it took me to bushwhack just to get to the treeline I would say using the trail for Arethusa Cirque for ascent would be a lot faster.
Linda Breton - Aug 8, 2005 10:52 pm
Route Climbed: SE Scramble route Date Climbed: August 2004Great fun! I went with scrambling partner Andrew Nugara. The day started so misty, we could not see the ridge (or mountain) until we reached the chimney. The chimney downclimb was easier than expected, and the ridge scrambling, varied and interesting. At the crux listed in the Kane book, we backtracked about 30 feet and scrambled down to an exposed, rubbly ledge on the west side of the crux. After that, it was a walk to the summit. There was no register in 2004 either. On return, we traversed the steep slabs below the ridge, and descended some of the most southerly gullies to reach the cirque.
Dow Williams - Aug 1, 2005 11:01 am
Route Climbed: Southeast Ridge Date Climbed: July 20, 2005I went up the wrong peak originally, after hiking back and forth like a yoyo with map and guidebook in hand. One of those circumstances where I would have been better off with just the map. So I came back several days later (ran into Robin Williams filming “RV” on the road) and did it right. The first peak I went up had tons of cairns at the summit, so go figure. This is a fun fast route if you have the proper beta. The descent can be tricky as described well on the mountain page. Cheers