We're planning on an extended stay in the Enchantments next summer. Hoping to climb Dragontail (Serpentine), Prusik (W. Ridge) and Stuart (CNR). Anybody have any info about such a trip. Doesn't seem too unreasonable for a 6 day trip?! Pain in the ass to get permits, so we figured we'd climb 3 classics while we're in there. Whatcha think???

MM

Sounds pretty reasonable - these routes are all commonly done C2C in a day. You will probably want to basecamp out of Colchuck Lake and do Serpentine Arete and WR Prusik then move over to Stuart. The biggest question will be how to descend Stuart. It makes sense to approach Stuart from Stuart Lake trail so you will need to get back down to that side. Sherpa Glacier is only feasible as a descent in early season. Cascadian Couloir will get you down easily, but puts you on the wrong side of the mountain - you would have to hike up Ingal's Creek trail to Stuart and Goat passes and drop back down the north side. There is another descent off the north side, rappels and down climbing, but I haven't done it. That may be your best option.

Unless things have changed from about ten years ago, the hard to get permits are to overnight in the upper enchantments. Colchuck Lake is a different permit, and should not be a problem. Asguard pass is so much easier without an overnight pack. Call the Leavenworth Ranger station to be sure. WTA.org can also be very helpful for current conditions and access problems.

RAdams wrote:Unless things have changed from about ten years ago, the hard to get permits are to overnight in the upper enchantments. Colchuck Lake is a different permit, and should not be a problem.

Colchuck Lake permits are tough now too.

Thanks for the reply guys. Yep, Colchuck Lake permits are hard to get without many months of advanced reservations. I'm so used to climbing wherever the weather is good, so it's kind of daunting to think of having a scheduled climb months out! We've been kicking this idea around for awhile, so I definitely want to make it happen. The more research that I do, the more I realize that CNR of Stuart will have to be on another trip. Once we are in the Enchantments, we might as well stay at one or two camps and climb as much as we can. Lots of options.......N Buttress of Colchuck, Boxtop, Colchuck Balanced Rock.......the list keeps growing!

Consider the NE Buttress of Colchuck, to date one of my favorite climbs in the Enchantments: http://www.summitpost.org/northeast-but ... eak/689764

Colchuck NE Buttress sounds fantastic! Not a whole lot of info out there about the route. Beckey description sounds pretty good, but a bit vague (classic Fred style!)