In September '93 we climbed what I think Secor calls the Wallerstein variation above the saddle at Apex peak - we climbed straight up to a yellow chimney (low fifth class), and then trended up and left on 4th class rock to summit about 5 feet from the summit register in an early season snow storm - glad we weren't on the Swiss arete. It was a great direct alternative with nice views and exposure on good rock when compared to the looser rock on the North Couloir descent route.
Having recently climbed this route (mid-June in a fairly low snow year), I have a few comments to make about the section of the route between the Apex Peak notch and the southwest ridge of Mt. Sill. The "exposed 3rd class ledge" referred to in this description was partly snow-covered and not very obvious. Instead, what appeared to be the more logical and obvious (cairned) route took one somewhat lower across the west face of Sill, along what I would describe as a 2nd-class catwalk. From the far (climber's right) end of this catwalk to the southwest ridge is a couple of hundred feet of 4th class, in our case made a bit more interesting by the presence of snow on many of the ledges along the way. While most of this snow was avoidable, this at times involved venturing onto probably low 5th-class terrain. If rappelling on descent, one would need to do two 100-foot raps to get down to the catwalk (in our case, we did two 100-foot down leads). As of June of this year, rap slings do exist to do this, but the integrity of the boulders they are slung around should be assessed carefully. In general, it should be emphasized that while the climbing on the 4th-class section may be straightforward, there is a lot of loose or questionable rock, adding a degree of seriousness to the route.
This comment mostly reflects my experience last weekend (though I didn't really find much loose rock). My partner followed the route description faithfully and traversed from higher, but I took a cairned lower route that was essentially a Class 2 catwalk, not really exposed. From there I could zigzag up what I'd describe as a solid Class 3 ledge system with no exposure before arriving at about 50 feet of Class 4 climbing (again, with no real exposure).
Obviously it depends on snow cover, but I feel that most of the photos suggest more exposure than the route actually entails. I am a complete scaredy-cat and had no issues here. Glacier Notch was much worse!
toddseeber - Apr 19, 2009 12:50 pm - Hasn't voted
alternate routeIn September '93 we climbed what I think Secor calls the Wallerstein variation above the saddle at Apex peak - we climbed straight up to a yellow chimney (low fifth class), and then trended up and left on 4th class rock to summit about 5 feet from the summit register in an early season snow storm - glad we weren't on the Swiss arete. It was a great direct alternative with nice views and exposure on good rock when compared to the looser rock on the North Couloir descent route.
AlexeyD - Jun 24, 2013 2:24 pm - Hasn't voted
above Apex Peak in early seasonHaving recently climbed this route (mid-June in a fairly low snow year), I have a few comments to make about the section of the route between the Apex Peak notch and the southwest ridge of Mt. Sill. The "exposed 3rd class ledge" referred to in this description was partly snow-covered and not very obvious. Instead, what appeared to be the more logical and obvious (cairned) route took one somewhat lower across the west face of Sill, along what I would describe as a 2nd-class catwalk. From the far (climber's right) end of this catwalk to the southwest ridge is a couple of hundred feet of 4th class, in our case made a bit more interesting by the presence of snow on many of the ledges along the way. While most of this snow was avoidable, this at times involved venturing onto probably low 5th-class terrain. If rappelling on descent, one would need to do two 100-foot raps to get down to the catwalk (in our case, we did two 100-foot down leads). As of June of this year, rap slings do exist to do this, but the integrity of the boulders they are slung around should be assessed carefully. In general, it should be emphasized that while the climbing on the 4th-class section may be straightforward, there is a lot of loose or questionable rock, adding a degree of seriousness to the route.
ljwoodw - Jun 13, 2022 4:28 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: above Apex Peak in early seasonThis comment mostly reflects my experience last weekend (though I didn't really find much loose rock). My partner followed the route description faithfully and traversed from higher, but I took a cairned lower route that was essentially a Class 2 catwalk, not really exposed. From there I could zigzag up what I'd describe as a solid Class 3 ledge system with no exposure before arriving at about 50 feet of Class 4 climbing (again, with no real exposure).
Obviously it depends on snow cover, but I feel that most of the photos suggest more exposure than the route actually entails. I am a complete scaredy-cat and had no issues here. Glacier Notch was much worse!