| Eldorado Glacier / East Ridge Route |
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| Eldorado Glacier / East Ridge   | 
| Page Type: Route Location: Washington, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 48.53780°N / 121.1331°W Route Type: Basic snow / glacier Time Required: Half a day Difficulty: Alpine I-II
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| Page By: climbit Created/Edited: Mar 31, 2001 / Mar 31, 2001 Object ID: 155470 Hits: 4075 Loading... Page Score: 86.03% - 1 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Approach
Eldorado Creek Approach is described in the overview. Sibley creek is also an option but i have not done it (see Nelson and Potterfield Selected Climbs in the Cascades). Using Eldorado Creek approach, it's 7-10 hours (5400 ft vertical) from car park to camp at 7500 feet on the saddle between Inspiration and Eldorado Glaciers.
Route Description
The route is simple and straightforward. It takes half a day round trip from the saddle at 7500ft to the summit and back. Make a late-ish alpine start 3-4am from the saddle. Head northeast around the lower arm of the East Ridge and then get on it. Follow it to the summit. There's been a huge crevasse on the north side of that East Ridge about halfway up the past few years. The last 500 feet or so vertical will be extremely steep and contain a knife-edge on the ridge itself. Absolutely incredible. The summit is a small edge about 15-20 meters long and had to be stamped down with much difficulty into a 2-ft wide "path" in June 1998. Some people walk the ridge itself as soon as possible, while some stay a little below the ridge on the south side to allow for easier ice axe placement (but more difficult footing). This summit and finish are quite exposed and exhilerating!
Essential Gear
standard glacier gear is required - rope, harness, crampons, ice axe, 'biners, 1-2 pickets per person for deadmen in soft snow or for normal use in hard, pulleys, prusiks or ascenders, etc. Try to pack light - it's a long grind in to the base of the climb.
Miscellaneous Info
If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.
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