Enchantments planning beta request
Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 7:30 pm
Greetings,
I'm planning a little excursion to the Enchantments/Stuart Range. Plan is to start at the NE side & go through/past the range on the N, doing a couple of climbs along the way. As my interest is more climbing & hiking, & less schlepping as much weight as possible, I'd love to minimize the amount of stuff I'm carrying on my back during the course of this. The climbs I'd like to do, if everything works out, would be: S face of Prusik, Serpentine Arete/Backbone Ridge on Dragontail, & N ridge of Stuart.
While I've done a fair bit of investigating, the logistics, red tape, & overall complexity of pulling this off involve some effort.
Some things I'm wondering:
1. For the climbs listed, would pickets/glacier travel-crevasse rescue stuff be a good idea (mostly for approaches/descents), or more optional?
2. Is the descent from Dragontail pretty straightforward?
3. Given the time of year, would the Cascadian Couloir be the best descent from Stuart, or is the Sherpa Glacier still pretty doable (or other descent options)?
4. How does the lower north ridge on Stuart compare with the upper (difficulty, route-finding, pro', etc.)?
5. How much of a pain-in-the-ass is it to get back to Lake Stuart area (camp) from the base of the Cascadian Couloir, & is there anything worth mentioning about doing this?
6. What would the difficulty be of hitching a ride from the Stuart-area trailhead back to the Snow Creek drainage trailhead?
7. Is there a place that has free wi-fi in Leavenworth?
8. Suggested Forest Service "campsites" (i.e. free- not an official campground, primitive totally fine) in the vicinity?
Answers, potential or full, to all or some of the questions welcomed- Thanks a lot!
I'm planning a little excursion to the Enchantments/Stuart Range. Plan is to start at the NE side & go through/past the range on the N, doing a couple of climbs along the way. As my interest is more climbing & hiking, & less schlepping as much weight as possible, I'd love to minimize the amount of stuff I'm carrying on my back during the course of this. The climbs I'd like to do, if everything works out, would be: S face of Prusik, Serpentine Arete/Backbone Ridge on Dragontail, & N ridge of Stuart.
While I've done a fair bit of investigating, the logistics, red tape, & overall complexity of pulling this off involve some effort.
Some things I'm wondering:
1. For the climbs listed, would pickets/glacier travel-crevasse rescue stuff be a good idea (mostly for approaches/descents), or more optional?
2. Is the descent from Dragontail pretty straightforward?
3. Given the time of year, would the Cascadian Couloir be the best descent from Stuart, or is the Sherpa Glacier still pretty doable (or other descent options)?
4. How does the lower north ridge on Stuart compare with the upper (difficulty, route-finding, pro', etc.)?
5. How much of a pain-in-the-ass is it to get back to Lake Stuart area (camp) from the base of the Cascadian Couloir, & is there anything worth mentioning about doing this?
6. What would the difficulty be of hitching a ride from the Stuart-area trailhead back to the Snow Creek drainage trailhead?
7. Is there a place that has free wi-fi in Leavenworth?
8. Suggested Forest Service "campsites" (i.e. free- not an official campground, primitive totally fine) in the vicinity?
Answers, potential or full, to all or some of the questions welcomed- Thanks a lot!