West Gully

Route

Images (4)

Climber's Log (0)

Comments (0)

Additions & Corrections (0)

Contribute

Geography

Parents

Routes

SW Gully Upper South Ridge

West Gully

Page Type: Route

Location: Washington, United States, North America

Lat/Lon: 48.58860°N / 120.7022°W

Route Type: Scramble

Time Required: One to two days

Difficulty: Class 3-4

Loading...
Route Quality:
1
2
3
4
5
- 1 Votes

Page By: hkutuk

Created/Edited: Oct 6, 2004 / Oct 6, 2004

Object ID: 162402

Hits: 1040

Page Score: 0% - 0 Votes

Vote: Log in to vote

Table of Contents

Approach

Approach from the Rainy Pass PCNST trailhead. The trail goes up gently through evergreen forest and eventually becomes sparse larches with nice views into the Porcupine basin before reaching Cutthroat pass. From the pass contiune on PCNST northeasterly as it offers great views of Silverstar, Cutthroat and Liberty Bell area. The trail then drops down to Granite Pass at 6300 feet via many switchbacks. At this point you will see an imposing view of Tower mountain. The beatiful u-shaped Swamp Creek valley will be on your left all the time until you get to the a horse camp before Mt Hardy. Here a distinct trail will split to the right from PCNST leading to the Snowy Lakes from where the peak can be climbed. Camping at the lower Snowy Lake is closer to Tower Mountain. The appraoch distance is approximately 10 miles.

(A direct bushwhacking approach from the Swamp creek basin is also possible and is about 3 miles for the more adventurous)

Route Description

Due to the number of gullys on the west side of the mountian, route finding can be confusing. From the Snowy Lakes first cross some loose scree fields and climb the steep heather to get to the basin west of Tower. Then contour the talus field on the west side of Tower until you hit the southwest ridge. Climb straight up by staying on the ridge top to avoid couple lower gullys. There is a gully from the talus field to the SW ridge which can be used on the descent but it can be too tedious to climb up. Go higher on the ridge until you reach the ridge top at the base of rock cliffs. At this point you will need to start traversing to your right (south) and you can see three distinct large gullys. The west gully is the first one marked by a distinct pillar with a large rock on top of it. Climb up the gully which is has a large chokestone midway that has to be climbed with a mantle move. Continue the loose scree fest until you get to a notch. From the notch you will need to go straight up until you get to a headwall marked by a V shaped white stripes, which can be seen far from the west base of the mountain. Here make a sharp right turn and climb over the white smooth rock. Another left turn here on the ledges and scramble up to the NW ridge until you cannot go any further (there is huge exposure to the east side). Turn right here and the rock will become much larger and black. First go through an easy chimney to a platform surrounded by large blocks. These can be climbed but it is definitely harder than class 3. A short exposed traverse towards west will bring you to somewhat easier scramble (class 4) right underneath the summit and to the summit cairn. Descent the way you came up.

Essential Gear

None other than nerves for the steep loose rock.

Miscellaneous Info

If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.