Northeast Ridge of Mount Merritt

The northeast ridge of Mount Merritt, with the summit at upper right. From this point, a ledge leads straight ahead towards Old Sun Glacier. Unless you are equipped for steep snow climbing, it's essentially a dead end, so the key is to look for a class III route through broken cliff bands prior to reaching the snow. Careful route finding is necessary at this point, as a slip could easily turn into a prolonged tumble onto the crevassed glacier. August 27, 2011