Trip Report
Basic Rock Climb - The Tooth/South Face
Successful early season climb of the Tooth. Plenty of snow remaining from Source Lake to Pineapple Pass.
Karl Themer
- Sun, May 10, 2026
- Basic Rock Climb - The Tooth/South Face
- The Tooth/South Face
- Climbing
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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Still snow covered from Source lake up to Pineapple pass. The snow is quite soft but in the morning we made good steps and good time. Lots of water running everywhere and we had an interesting stream crossing where we got wet. Apparently there is a better spot to cross. Postholing on the way out but not too bad. The climbing route itself was snow-free. The trail up to Source lake is largely snow-free.
Each pitch has a cord/webbing anchor in place, but always consider bringing new material to back up old tat.
We left Alpental at 5:45 AM. We knew a WAC team of nine was coming in behind us. The WAC leaves top ropes in place for their students. The WAC leader had reached out to me beforehand to coordinate and to tell me they would start after us, which was very helpful. We encountered them on our way down.
About an hour to reach the Snow Lake trail junction, the trail is snow-free up to this point. Traversing around Source Lake was easy, a mix of rocks and snow. Then up steeper snow before crossing a stream with high flow, we got a little wet there and might have crossed higher up, but I did not find a better spot to cross myself. Good snow travel up to Pineapple Pass, the final pitch is steep, but we were able to kick good steps. The transition from snow to rock at the pass can be a bit tricky. Bring an axe if going early season. About three hours from the TH to the base of the route.
One party of two was ahead of us, also Mounties. It took us about four hours to get seven of us up to the summit. We crowded a bit at the top of pitch one but started to spread out after that. 30 minutes on the summit enjoying snacks and intermittent views through mist and clouds. It rained briefly while on the last pitch but quickly subsided.
Our descent was efficient with a leader at each rap station. We used existing anchors. We had to wait a bit at one station for the WAC climbers to clear but it wasn't too bad. 2.5 hours to get everyone down. The WAC let us use one of their ropes they had left in place. For the students it was their first alpine rappel sequence; they performed very well.
The hike out took close to three hours. When I stepped onto the snow at Pineapple Pass the snow bridge collapsed and I had to catch myself on the snow. Everything is melting quickly now. About 13 hours car to car. Great day, great group. This was a mentored lead for Josh W who took care of pre-trip logistics.