Mount Stuart West Ridge- Great scrambling with a bit of technical rock

A two-day climb up the West Ridge route of Mount Stuart in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness between Cle Elum and Leavenworth, WA. Stuart is a giant mountain of granite and is the second highest non-volcanic peak in Washington (5th highest overall in WA). The West Ridge is fun, adventurous route that crosses Mt Stuart from west to east, making its way up and across gulleys and faces almost entirely along the south/southwest side of the mountain. This route came it at around 16 miles and nearly 9,000ft of total elevation gain and it involves lots of scrambling in the class 3-4 range, with some technical moves and pitches mixed in.

Do your research before attempting this climb, as it is long and the route finding can be complex. There are great trip reports and route overlay photos to be found on-line. I referenced numerous saved photos and trip reports throughout this climb to make sure we stayed on-route.

Dan and I chose to do this as a two-day climb so we could give ourselves plenty of time. Of course this meant we carried shelter, extra food, and water for two days (once you leave Lake Ingalls the snow/water availability is limited to nothing in the summer), as well as technical gear. Our packs weighed a total of around 30-40lbs throughout the climb.

We started from the Esmerelda Trailhead, soon moving onto the Ingalls Way trail, over Ingalls Pass and around the west side of Lake Ingalls. We filled up at the lake before continuing up a ridge line that leads north and east to the base of the mountain. Once you are on the mountain, the scrambling is almost nonstop as you work your way through the maze of steep gulleys and ridges. Again, DO YOUR RESEARCH before you go. This is an awesome route up an awesome mountain!