Eric and I climbed Colchuck this Saturday via most of the north ridge. We drove up Friday night with Gary to find the road un-gated and drivable almost three miles toward the Stuart Lake trailhead. Thanks to this good fortune, we'd only have to hike one extra mile of monotonous road on the approach. We took a short nap and were on the way just before 3am. The trail was easy to follow and well packed-out. Gary, having been enslaved by his advisor into working 80-hour weeks lately, tired out just before Colchuck Lake and handed off his share of the gear so Eric and I could do the climb without him. We wished him well, gave him the car keys, and hustled off to the lake, arriving just in time for sunrise.

We had intended to climb the North Buttress Couloir (NBC) route, but forgot the important points of the route description ("From the lower W extremity of the Colchuck Glacier... just E of the prominent lateral moraine...") and just started up the first promising couloir we found (6.45am).

The couloir we chose is to the right of the moraine, above a lightly treed slope, and doglegs right after a couple hundred feet below a short cliff of yellowish rock. Mellow snow climbing (45 degrees) with rock pro and trees to sling leads up to the ridge. We climbed a short rock step to below the formation labeled "The Sandpiper" in the brown Beckey guide (45 minutes in).

The rest of the route was a long slog up snow slopes on the west side of the ridge, well below the crest. There was plenty of wallowing, but the snow was stable and good for kicking steps in most places. It got a bit steep (60 degrees?) and exposed on the last section below the summit, which seemed to go on forever. We spent just over four hours on the route. Another party summitted via the NBC just after we finished eating our lunch on top (or in Eric's case, losing our lunch).

We only managed a couple short glissades down the Colchuck Glacier -- too much fluffy freshiez. The hike out sucked, especially the footsore trudge back up the slushy road.

It was a good day to be out. We had a little wind and spindrift on the latter half of the ridge, but the weather was fine. I met a couple friends down at the lake trying for the third consecutive weekend (!) to climb Colchuck. They did it the next day via the NBC.