Basic Rock Climb - The Tooth/South Face

We camped at Alpental parking lot near the bridge.  Gene arrived Thursday evening.   Mark arrived on Friday morning.

On trail @ 7am, the route follows the Snow Lake Trail about 2 mi, then starts traversing downward when you reach the talus field at roughly 4,100’ elevation as you hike around Source Lake.

A report I had seen mentioned following the trail to the first switchback, but if you go that far, you’ll end up bushwhacking above some small cliffs.  In late summer, there are some very nice blueberries as a consolation.

There are some trails of variable clarity and connection leading to first gully full of talus.  Scramble up this until you reach a rock gully of increased steepness.  Here, there is a trail to the left that will take you into the next gully over.  We chose another trail to the right that continues up to the top of the first gully.  In retrospect, the trail to the left is the more direct choice. 

Once above the gullies, you can see the Pineapple pass.  Just aim directly at the notch and you will find trails and indication of traffic along the way.   Staying high by the cliff band will increase unnecessary ups and downs, as well as rockfall potential.  A direct approach through the basin is better.

We arrived at the base of the climb at 9:45am and began climbing at 10.  The rock is good with lots of options and plenty of protection.  The “catwalk” doesn’t have much protection at first, but there are multiple stuck cams to clip at the first available crack.  We all were on the summit by 12:15pm. 

After a nice lunch, we started rappelling down at 1:00pm, were back at packs at 2:15, and began hiking back at 2:30.

   The route back was had less guess-work and was a bit more direct. We arrived at the cars at 4:15.

This was a great climb with pleasant people and I’d be happy to climb with any of them again.