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| South gully route   | 
| Page Type: Route Location: Washington, United States, North America Route Type: Scrambling Season: Summer Time Required: Most of a day Rock Difficulty: Class 3
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| Page By: don frazier Created/Edited: Aug 28, 2009 / Aug 28, 2009 Object ID: 546522 Hits: 97 Loading... Page Score: 0% - 0 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
OverviewThis is a great late summer route after the Silver Star Glacier route becomes too unpleasant for most peoples liking. This route does have a lot of loose unstable rock in the south gully. Smaller parties would be advisable.
Getting ThereThis trip has the same parking area as the Burgundy col route; off Hwy 20 at milepost 166.Route DescriptionThere are several routes one could take to get to the south gully that seperates the east and west peaks of Silver Star. The most straight forward route is to drop down the boulder feild from the parking area (at milepost 166 off hwy 20) and cross Early winters creek. Once on the other side basically head almost due east and straight uphill. The idea is to gain the long ridge that radiates westward from the southwest buttress of the West peak. This ridge is very easy and fun to follow with some class 2 in sections, and great views; especially towards Silver Star. On the way down this ridge aims straight for the parking area.
At around 7800ft start to skirt the south side of the ridge and aim for the wide saddle(approx. 8,000 ft) on the shoulder of the west peak. Cross the saddle and drop around 100 ft to get under some cliffs of the southwest buttress. Once below the cliffs start an eastward traverse. Once past the cliffs, continue on an eastward rising traverse until meeting the prominent south gully that seperates the east and west peaks. Follow the gully (class 2 and 3) all the way to the col seperating the two peaks. From here it joins the Silver Star glacier route.Essential GearIf done after mid-summer when the snow has melted out, a helmet is about the only thing I would recommend. If done earlier in the season then an ice ax and crampons would need to be added to the list.External LinksThe Cascade alpine guide lists something similar to this route ( South Route). This was the route I set out with in mind, but did not follow through with due to some inconsistancies. First, the description says to cross the lowest saddle (7720ft) between Snagtooth ridge and the West peak. This saddle is impassible withoput ropes on the east side. Instaed, I had to scramble up a couple hundred feet higher to the north to reach a notch that had a steep ramp leading down. Second, this gully that leads to the 7720 ft saddle has much loose rock and a couple class 4 moves over some steps that I did not want to have to come down through; due to a lot of loose rock perched precariously on top the steps. Images
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