The current route is relatively straightforward, well-traveled and even beginning to get trenched out in spots with increased traffic during periods with high freezing levels. While inclement weather earlier this week made challenging and dangerous conditions, there have been many successful summit climbs from guided, individual, and ranger groups when the conditions have cooperated.
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| A Route to the Summit on 7/23 |
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| Looking up the Ingraham and the DC from Dunn's Roll |
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| Ladder w/Handline at High Crack (~11,300ft) |
The Disappointment Cleaver is almost entirely rock at this stage of the season, and guide teams have worked hard to maintain a well wanded path through the loose rocks. Parties are encouraged to pause, look around, and consider using these route aids when they are present. Please maintain good situational awareness when climbing the mountain and think of where the best/safest paths of travel are for you and your group. While traveling on the cleaver itself, take caution not to travel directly above or below other parties when at all possible, and use appropriate rope management techniques to ensure your rope is not dragging on the ground where it can knock loose rocks on your partners or other climbers.
Last weeks re-route above the cleaver has become quite "punched in" with this past weekend's traffic, but summer temperatures have and will continue to change the conditions on the upper mountain in the coming weeks. There is a ladder at ~12,800 before the route trends right towards the Emmons shoulder. Next, parties climb up, then back down on the shoulder around more broken terrain to a degrading snow plug and an additional installed ladder at ~12,900.
Above the cleaver there are about a dozen fixed pickets at various locations for climbers to use as running protection if they choose. If you do use these pickets, please inspect each piece of protection before clipping your rope team to them. These route adjuncts are not maintained by the NPS and may not be as secure as they were when they were initially placed hours or even days before your party comes upon them.
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| Ladder at ~12,900ft (Photo from 7/23) |
Once across this ladder, the route makes a long traverse back climbers left, and slightly down under some beautiful and impressive cracks, blocks, and gnarled portions of the Ingraham Glacier. After this nearly 2000ft traverse at 13,400, switchbacks and a few smaller crack crossings lead to the crater rim.
While the current route is well traveled and easy to follow, as conditions change, please question if that snowbridge, the wanded path, or that placed ladder is the best/safest route of travel for your group. Sometimes the best way to cross a crevasse is to walk off the "trail" and around, rather than leaping over it like the party in front of you did!
