Climb of Ingalls Peak via South Ridge (5.6 variation) on 7.28.25.
Skipbees' report from 7.23 covers the trail conditions pretty well so I'll just add a few notes about the climb.
The summit register is full, so please bring a new notebook if you're headed up this way!
WATER ACCESS: We crossed 3-4 little creeks before cresting the ridge to drop down to Lake Ingalls. The first was at about 3.8 miles in with the classic view of Stuart. We didn't see any running water past the lake or on the climbing route.
APPROACH: Snow-free to the base of the climb. We headed westward from the lake up slabs which led into a gully and up on a mostly-cairned route that led us to the start of the climb. The last bit of the approach was a bunch of tedious, loose scree (I dropped down and back up to get around the final rock buttress thing).
There were two parties of two ahead of us, and we were the final ones up for the day.
CLIMB: We climbed with a 70m rope and took the 5.6 crack variation on the crux pitch. Slippery serpentine made things a little more exciting than they looked. My partner led everything, I followed and cleaned. We did four pitches, and then made the final scramble to the small summit.
Rap stations/bolted anchors all looked in good shape. Four raps back down to base went smoothly (maxed out the 70m for sure).
We picked our way back down to the lake, my partner jumped in for a quick cold dip and then we slogged back out to the car.
BUGS: Just one or two mosquitoes, but the ginormous flies were out and about. It was a bit distracting while belaying, when they are circling you like jets!
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