From the upper trailhead
(
1), follow the trail north for nearly 0.75 mile to reach a trail junction, near 11,200'. Turn right and switchback up a hillside before continuing north -
2. Follow the trail along the hillside and exit the trees at 11,600'. Stay on the main trail (
3) before turning left
onto the Wetterhorn trail, near 12,000' -
4. Hike north to reach rocky terrain, east of Wetterhorn -
5. Zig zag over 1/2 mile through the rocks -
6. After the trail exists the rocks, continue southwest to a saddle
on Wetterhorn's southeast ridge -
7 and
8.
From the 13,100-foot saddle, turn right and start up the ridge -
9. Continue up yellow-colored dirt to reach the upper ridge and more difficult terrain -
10. Follow a small, broken trail that weaves up through the rocks on the left side of the ridge. You will soon be able to see the next 400' of rocky terrain which leads up to the "Prow," a fin-like tower just below the summit -
11. The route gradually climbs towards the Prow by staying below the ridge crest and you'll encounter a few sections which require some brief scrambling. One area in particular is a rock rib which blocks easy passage -
12. Once you reach the rib, bypass it by turning right and climbing a small gully back toward the ridge crest -
13. At the top of the gully (
14), you have a couple of options:
1) Locate a "V" notch on the left that allows passage through the rib. Drop down the other side of the notch and continue toward the ridge crest, just right of the Prow -
15,
16 and
17.
2) Or climb up through the rocks show in
13 and
14 to reach the crest of the ridge. Once on the ridge, turn left and continue toward the Prow.
Near 13,800', walk past the right side of the Prow to reach an open area below the summit block -
18. You'll see two notches between the Prow and the summit -
19. Climb through the higher notch (
20), over an angled slab and turn right to see the final, Class 3 pitch and crux of the route -
21. You may encounter a few loose rocks and rubble on the small ledges but the line is mostly stable -
22 and
23. Just below the summit you'll reach a ledge/catwalk -
24. Climb directly up (
25) from the catwalk or swing around to the left a few feet to find slightly easier climbing. Gain the summit
and enjoy the views -
26 and
27.