Northeast Ridge, 5.6 Trad, Grade II

By Ray Pomponio (Partner: Jason K.)

Total car-to-car time: 12.5 hours

Trip Preparation

As this was our first time climbing in Rocky together, we did extra preparation. I think this ultimately made for a successful trip. The day before the climb, Jason came over and we put together the exact rack we were going to carry. We also planned a departure time (02:00 from Boulder), and expected our total time out from the car to be around 14-15 hours based on previous reports (note: one of those reports was on 14ers.com, posted just a few weeks before our climb, and proved extremely helpful - Thank you to those folks).

We decided on the following rack:

• Doubles #0.3 to #3 (C4 sizes), plus black Totem
• Single set of BD stoppers in sizes 4-8
• Single set DMM offsets 8-12
• 11 alpine draws
• 2 double lengths
• 2 cordelettes, each about 20ft in length
• 2 ATC guides, plus two lockers per device
• 1 GriGri
• 1 nut tool
• 70m climbing rope
• Extra webbing + rap ring

There are quite a few trip reports available for this route. I read several to get an idea of what we could expect. I also adapted the topo from Rossiter’s Guidebook with notes from Mountain Project and some of my own illustrations (my topo is at the end of this report). In particular, I added an updated description of the descent route, which was bolted for a 70m rope in 2020.

The Approach

We started out on the trail at 03:15, earlier than expected, and we moved fast over the opening couple of miles. We took the climber’s trail to skip Alberta Falls and save some time. This trail was a bit more rugged than the standard Loch Vale path but definitely worth the time savings. We were at Loch Vale within an hour and half from the car, which seemed like a brisk pace.

Soon after Loch Vale, we took the right fork off Sky Pond trail to Andrews Glacier. It would've been easy to miss this fork if we were moving fast and unfamiliar with the route. The Andrews Glacier trail was more challenging, with both a steady uphill climb and rockier terrain. We eventually came to The Gash and trended towards a boulder field. It was pretty clear that the approach to Sharkstooth was not in the direction of Andrews Glacier, although if I had not read several trip reports I’m not sure I would’ve known that.

The Gash is a valley of boulders varying in size from soccer balls to houses. As an approach, it is hard. I understood why the route has earned a reputation for its difficult approach. It’s much more taxing than the hike to Sky Pond. There are many potential paths to take, but virtualy all of them have difficult obstacles (perhaps there’s a “best” way to go, but we weren't going to find it on our first time, in the dark).

We traversed several flat snowfields and scrambled over a number of boulders until we reached a crest in the approach. From here, we got our first view of the Sharkstooth and what remained of the daunting approach. We decided to take the steep snowfield to the right, rather than the grassy ledges that cut through a cliff below the main formation. At different times of year, I could imagine a varying tradeoff varying between these two options. We had microspikes and trekking poles and the snowfield was easy traveling at 05:00. Coming down it, however, would prove to be the crux of the day.

The final quarter mile to the base of the climb was the most taxing part of the approach, as the boulders are very inconveniently sized so that they are big enough to hurt you, but small enough to constantly shift beneath your weight. It would be easy to roll an ankle on this section. I was thankful for trekking poles as they helped with balance and testing the stability of some boulders.

The Climb

Finally, after the steep snowfield and an additional 45 minutes of boulder hopping, we reached the base of the route and geared up for the climb. It took us 3 hours and 15 minutes from the car to reach the base. With the ensuing transition, we were on the first pitch at 07:00. We also stashed some gear under a pile of rocks since we had heard the marmots were particularly keen to chew through backpacks.

The climbing itself was incredibly fun. It’s relatively mellow, with long pitches and several 'steps' in the ridge. It was increasingly beautiful as we moved up the ridge. Jason and I swung leads, linking pitches 3 and 4 by accident but turning out to be no issue. We dropped a nut and I could not clean one of the nuts placed on the 3rd pitch, but otherwise left no gear behind. I led one of the 'crux' sections which involved a short off-width after leaving a huge ledge. We summited within 3 hours of beginning the first pitch.

We rapped the intended route, and as expected the last rappel anchor is kind of janky—a combination of a slung chockstone, a fixed nut, and a piton. We scrambled back to the base where we had left Jason’s pack which held our extra food, water, and spikes. We found the buried bag in the boulders and there was no evidence that marmots had touched it.

The Descent

The descent from the base of Sharkstooth was the most challenging part of the day, especially from a mental standpoint. I stumbled on a couple of loose boulders. I was trying to maintain focus so as to avoid an injury, but after about eight hours of activity the mental fatigue was adding up.

We decided to take the steep snowfield back down, a decision that proved costly in terms of time, but not necessarily more so than the grassy ledge descent, which looked very uncertain. The problem with the snowfield descent was that the snow had softened considerably throughout the day. Once we reached the steepest section, we realized that kicking steps down was no longer feasible. We tried to make our way to a small rock field on the left (climber's right). Both Jason and I slipped on the last couple of meters and slid into the rocks. Fortunately, we were able to control our slides. But this could have been a more consequential mistake had we slid a longer distance.

There was still another 30 meters of steep, 30-ish degree snow to descend, followed by a traverse above another slope that we had crossed in the morning. Our problem-solving ability was tested here under strained conditions. Ultimately, we improvised a rappel anchor using rocks (credit to Jason on this one). We rapped to the base of the steepest section of snow (required leaving webbing and a rap ring behind).

I don’t think there was another safe alternative to descending the snow slope. A fall would’ve almost surely been catastrophic, with an uncontrolled slide leading to a major hazard of rocks some several hundred feet below.

Then, after getting our rope back (which took one re-ascent to free), we had to traverse the last steep snowfield. I was on high alert for this. We did not rope up as there would have been no way of holding another's fall. Jason was more adept at snow travel, and he made it safely to a rocky stream ahead of me. I was much slower and more clumsy. I actually slipped once but caught myself on some rock that protruded from the snow. The best tactic was kicking steps sideways into the snow, improving stability, but slowing my pace to snail crawl. Without microspikes and poles, I would never have been able to cross this section.

Finally, after a lot of energy spent kicking steps in the snow, I reached Jason’s perch on the rocks and considered myself safe from the hazard of sliding down the snowfield. We continued down the steep boulder field and encountered a number of difficult scrambles on the rest of the descent, but none in comparison to the snowfield. We found a great bivy spot underneath a massive boulder about a third of the way up the Gash (approximate coordinates: 40.28702, -105.67448).

I have been lucky to acquire some more snow sense since I did this climb, but this is still not an experience I’d be eager to repeat. I suspect a glacier axe could have been useful, either as a belay anchor or a self-arrest tool in a last resort situation. I don't know that it would've been worth bringing crampons just for this. We seemed to be in-between spring and summer conditions, since the previous trip report (three weeks prior) mentioned glissading down the snow field. And I'm sure several weeks later much of this snow would be gone.

I can only say that I have a lot to learn when it comes to traveling on the medium of snow. I consider myself lucky that I got some forced experience on this trip, rather than a broken bone or a hospital bill.

Once back on Andrews Glacier trail, we were in the clear. We took a short break around the creek to rest and eat, then we blitzed through the remainder of the trail back. We only stopped at Loch Vale to appreciate a mother elk and her baby calf some 30 yards ahead of us, walking right into the lake and going for a swim.

We were in surprisingly good shape for such a long day, and we jogged down several steeper sections of the Sky Pond/Loch Vale trail system. We passed a lot of other hiking parties and several climbers that had climbed the Petit Grepon that morning. We took the shortcut back, reaching the car just 12 hours and 12 minutes after leaving that morning.

Final Thoughts

This was the perfect selection for a first alpine climb in Rocky Mountain National Park, as we both had years of leading on traditional multipitch routes. There was adventure in the form of unexpected challenges, but also sublime beauty in the mid-summer scenery of the Loch Vale region. Lots of lakes and fast-flowing waterfalls are just some of the reasons people choose to visit this area so often. But our choice to climb Sharkstooth put us in a relatively un-travelled realm of the park. I'm not sure anyone hikes The Gash other than to climb Sharkstooth, and I can definitely understand why.

I'm thankful I went with Jason as my partner, who had plenty of climbing experience to make our ascent efficient and enjoyable. Also, his cool head was an immense help when figuring out the descent of the snowfield. I'm not sure I would've crafted a rappel anchor in a pinch like that. The next objective we accomplished in the park was the South Face of Zowie (5.8+). I hope to write up that trip report, too.

Below is my topo diagram I used to track the noteworthy features on the climb, as well as the descent route. I sized the image so that it could be saved as a lockscreen background (iPhone 13).