Glacier National Park, MTWest Ridge Route Climber's Log
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| wiredroach | Fun Route  Date Climbed: Sep 23, 2012 | |
| Climbed the west ridge on a calm day filled with haze from forest fires. I found the north face to be fairly thin with good footing. "Exposure" is a bit relative even from section to section; much of it is a pleasant footpath while parts are fairly thin where a slip would probably mean curtains. I found this route to be more tenuous than the Reynolds north face traverse, but my memory of that trail is now 19 years old. Downclimbing was scarier than going up; easing down a few sections with a full pack nudging you outward is pretty exhilarating. The route above the traverse is fun; the trail below the western summit cliffs is easy but the yawning exposure below makes it spectacular. Great summit views even with the haze. Saw a few parties on top of Reynolds, but no other summit groups on any other nearby peaks while we were on top. Saw elk, a fox, bighorns, goats, and a grizzly bear on the drive to and from the park. As always, a decent day in Glacier is better than a good day anywhere else. | |
| Posted Sep 24, 2012 2:23 pm | ||
| distressbark | great route Date Climbed: Aug 14, 2011 | |
| Solo climb on a hot August day. I was swimming in Hidden Lake 1 hour and 17 minutes after leaving the summit. Loved everything about the route! | |
| Posted Aug 29, 2011 7:06 pm | ||
| andymt | Clements Date Climbed: Aug 18, 2003 | |
| Lots of fun. | ||
| Posted Jan 1, 2011 1:02 pm | ||
| rebelgrizz | Clements Exposure Date Climbed: Aug 24, 2009 | |
| Up the climber's trail to the Cannon/Clements saddle, then up the west ridge to the "Great Notch", traversing out onto the North Face Goat Trail and then reaching the gap between the large hump and the summit...then traversed onto the south side scree slopes (which in my opinion had MORE exposure than the Goat Trail) traversing below the last set of cliffs on a scree trail about as wide as your foot and very loose, until reaching the point where you ascend through the cliffs to the summit. There is a lot of exposure throughout this route but the Goat Trail itself was really only dicey in a couple of spots, but better to err on the side of caution when describing exposure so someone doesn't get in over their head. Summitted with Cougar14. | |
| Posted Aug 25, 2009 12:04 am | ||
| The Levitator | West Ridge Date Climbed: Aug 24, 2009 | |
| Climbed with Rebelgrizz. Very interesting and fun route to climb. | |
| Posted Aug 24, 2009 10:29 pm | ||
| bfrench | West Ridge | |
| Yep. | |
| Posted Apr 28, 2009 12:08 am | ||
| FlatheadNative | Montana Fires Date Climbed: Aug 30, 2003 | |
| made an interesting ascent as the smoke was low in the valleys while climbing. | |
| Posted Sep 19, 2008 12:49 am | ||
| Bob Sihler | Descent route Date Climbed: Jul 11, 2006 | |
| Used this to head back down after climbing the complicated and often very exposed South Ridge Route, which goes at Class 3-4 in the guidebook but easily turns into Class 5. In my opinion, Edwards overstates the exposure on the West Ridge, but maybe it was all relative after enduring the South Ridge. In any event, it was a scenic, easy descent, and not a route I'd prefer for ascending because of the loose scree encountered getting to the ridgeline. But bottom line: anyone a little nervous about the goat trail after reading the Edwards guide should probably take a second look at this route; it is not as scary as it might sound. | |
| Posted Sep 18, 2008 9:52 pm | ||
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