Basic Rock Climb - Prusik Peak/West Ridge

This was a great trip, initially intended to be a private camping/climbing trip, but since my friends are mostly mountaineers, it worked out as a club climb.   The first part of the approach was to our camp at the East end of Upper Snow lake.  We came in as multiple groups due to different peoples' scheduling needs.

The climb itself was on Monday, 24th.  We started hiking around 8am.  Having been up to the pass multiple routes at this point, we decided the short-cut from the West end of Lake Vivian was by far the best approach.  We reached the base of the climb around 11am.

We had 3 teams of 2.  Clint leading Brian, myself leading Audrey, and Dave leading Alex.  Pitch 1 was fun and playful crack and face climbing.  Pitch 2 started with an awkward pull over an inverted bit to an awkward, but reasonable horizontal trench crack and led to about a 15ft down climb.  Some beta I've found in retrospect suggests that we were off route at that point and should have traversed North lower. 

Pitch 3 started on easy slab to a piton,  then the crux slab of about 15ft.  It wasn't really possible to protect aside from backing up the piton, but it was very nice, grippy slab, and a fall would likely just entail feeling like grated cheese as you slide your way back to the piton.  After the slab was a traverse around to the North side, then an exposed but very protectable traverse to a cheval move, ending at a large ledge.  Clint whipped the rope over top after coming around to the South thinking it would reduce drag.  The result was that Brian had to climb directly over, but it was easy enough and he didn't mind.  There's an easy scramble from there to the final pitch.  the final pitch is a pleasant crack start to a layback flake up to a ledge, then a chimney to the summit.  We all climbed one side of the chimney like a face and found it way more simple than trying to pull chimney moves on it.  We reached the top around 2.

On rappel:  Coming down the first rappel, there was webbing on a small boulder that made it appear to be the second station.  It looked unsafe so I looked around and found that another station was just below and to climber's left.  This was also just a chock stone, but much better looking.  On the final rappel (4 rappels), we ended on a steep snow slope which I kicked deep steps in.  A 70m rope would have been nice here as it probably would have made it all the way to the rocks below that slope.  From there, it's non-eventful getting back to the ridge.

We took the same route back to camp as in and made it back for a nice dinner / story time.

A great day!