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Route |
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46.01830°N / 110.277°W |
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Mountaineering |
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Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter |
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Most of a day |
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Steep snow in early season |
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Class 3 |
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II |
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Most parties will approach the route from the area of Blue Lake. See the main page for trail information.
The ridge can be accessed via either of two cirques on the north side of the mountain. The shortest route is via the cirque at the base of the NW face.
The next cirque to the west provides access in the vicinity of point 10,574 for those who want to climb more of the ridge. I don't know if this route avoids loose rock or not. See the attached trip report: 2nd Attempt at Crazy Peak. Note that the author reports a short "technical section" Class 3 very low on the ridge if this approach is used.
The cirque at the base of the NW face is easily accessed via a short couloir above the south side of Blue Lake See Photo. Once in the cirque, travel is very easy on gentle slopes to the base of the NW face.
Whether in early season with snow or late season without snow, the crux of the route is negotiating the notch between the false and true summits. The key to getting into the notch is a very narrow chimney almost at the top of the false summit. Descend the chimney to its bottom (about 85 feet) and from there traverse skiers left across the base of the first tower in the notch and take an exposed (but relatively wide) ledge around the second tower. Once across the ledge descend a short distance further around and then climb to the notch between it and the summit block and find an easy route up to the top.
The following descriptions are for full snow and no snow conditions - for part of the season there will be no snow for the approach to the ridge crest, but potentially snow in the area of the notch.
In the mid to late summer and fall when there is no snow the problem of dealing with loose talus becomes an issue in route choice. When Moni and I arrived at Blue Lake, we met a party that had failed in their attempt on the peak the day before because of the loose rock on the approach to the ridge that they chose.
We approached the NW face and studied the couloirs carefully looking for a route that offered a short climb to the ridge crest and with a minimum of loose talus. I think that this is the shortest easiest route to the ridge crest from this cirque. See the first two photos below.
Expand photos for more detail.