Approach
These routes are best climbed while there's still plenty of snow. Enter through the Longmire entrance (gates open daily at around 8:00 AM) and park in the Narada Falls lot. Hike up to Steven's Canyon road and follow it sout for about 1/2 mile to the obvious bend where it turns due east. Leave the road and continue south downhill to the basin at Tatoosh Creek. Follow the creek southeast until you are directly under the north face. There is a clearing here that makes a wonderful camp site if you're planning on an overnight stay.
Route Description
There are several steep snow couloirs on the north face of Lane. I'll include the three most prominent - Lovers Lane, The Zipper, and The Fly. All are about 1000 - 1500 feet in length.
Lovers Lane
Lovers Lane is the steepest, narrowest, and consequently the most difficult of the routes. Hike accross Tatoosh creek to the northeast corner of the face. The line should be obvious as you can see it all the way from the road. Climb straight up until it ends abruptly on a ridge above The Zipper. Rappel from here into the Zipper and finish up by climbing the last 300 feet of the zipper.
The Zipper
The Zipper is the most popular climb on the North face. It is the left-leaning couloir in the center of the face that you can see from the road. However, once you begin the approach, it will be hidden behind a ridge. From the basin, hike below the face and climb up a large triangle-shaped feature composed of debris from the upper mountain. At the top of this, angle left and straight up 1000 feet to a dead tree at a notch in the east ridge of the summit block. The couloir is about 45 degrees and 20 feet wide at it's narrowest.
After topping out the couloir, traverse southwest over to the standard finish to the summit.
The Fly
This is the easiest couloir on the north face. Approach the same as the Zipper but don't turn left at the top of the debris pile. Instead continue straight up the broad couloir to a notch in the west ridge. From this notch, continue around to the south face and climb the standard route to the summit.
The easiest descent from the summit is to climb down to the saddle on the east side between Lane and Denman. Then head North down to the basin.
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Essential Gear
Most parties rope up for these routes. Pickets can be used for intermediate protection. They can be climbed with a single mountaineering axe, but a second ice tool can be easily put to use. Crampons reccomended if the snow is hard but may be unnecessary in early spring.
Miscellaneous Info
If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.
Images
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