With little confidence that I can gain enough elevation in a day to climb Shavano, then Tabegauche, then Shavano again on the way down, I decided to climb Tabegauche by the lesser-used West Ridge route via the old Jennings Creek trailhead. (I was planning to go to Shavano if energy and time permitted, but Tab took me long enough by itself!) Here's my report, which I hope will be helpful as some of the route is actually a little different than the descriptions I've read on this site and in the Roach book.

You'll need 4WD to reach the Jennings Creek trailhead, but fortunately Google Maps knows exactly where it is. There is very little parking there, but other pullouts not far away. As noted in other route descriptions, the old Southwest Ridge route is eroding and therefore closed, but you can get to the West Ridge this way.

Start up the Jennings Creek trail, which is easy enough to follow through the forest despite being - I believe - unmaintained. If you're starting in the dark, pay extra attention.

The path eventually winds out of the forest, and leads by a small tarn.

To your right is the Southwest ridge, which is closed - stay off it! Directly in front of you, to the left of the SW ridge, is the valley you'll follow to continue the West Ridge route.

Here's one place I found the route to be a little different than what I had read: There is no path up to the Southwest Ridge. It must have been cleared away at some point, because I couldn't see it. But there IS a nice clear path all the way back through the valley and up to the ridge itself. It's mostly a dirt path, but where it crosses rocks, it's cairned. This is much easier than I was expecting, since route descriptions led me to believe this was a route without a trail!

The path gets rockier in the back of the valley, but is marked by cairns and the trail up to the ridge is obvious. Follow it on up and arrive on the saddle between Tabegauche and 13er Carbonate Mountain!

Once on the ridge, there is no more trail and no more cairns. You're on your own, but the path to the summit is straightforward and honestly you don't need a trail or cairns if you read the 14ers description or this trip report. In fact, this is a great route if you're a little nervous about finding your own way. You have to do it here, but it's easy on this one.

Do make sure that as you continue up the ridge, you are looking back to see what the landmarks behind you look like. This is a route where bad things can happen if you descend a different way: Know what the saddle, Point 13,975, and the false summit look like from the back so you can stay on route all the way back.

Upon reaching the ridge, turn right. The big rockpile before you is Point 13,975.

As the route description notes, you CAN go around this point, but climbing over the top is easier. Head all the way to the top and continue on the ridge crest.

From high on Point 13,975, you have a tremendous view of the Southwest ridge, and can even see the old trail. Again, don't go there. If you haven't already, look back at where you came up to the saddle and make sure you know exactly what it looks like so you can retrace your steps.

Once over the point, the next high point in front of you is Tabegauche's false summit. It is your next goal: and like the point, it's easiest to climb to its top.

Everywhere you read about this route tells you not, under any circumstances, to descend McCoy Gulch. Ascending between Point 13,975 and the false summit, McCoy Gulch is the valley to your right, on the other side of the SW ridge from the valley you ascended.

It looks inviting, but ends in cliffs. Do not descend it, and be sure you know, again, which way you came up because this isn't it.

Once over the false summit, the summit is close, but the ridge bumps up and down a few times. Here is the one and only place you want to get OFF the very top of the ridge: the last bump before the summit is very rugged and you'll want to go around it to the right and not over it.

Once you get around the last bump, I found it easiest to scramble up a gully on the right (south) side of the summit. There are probably other ways. As the route description notes, these last few bits might need a little creativity to stay class 2.

Views from the summit:

I had considered Shavano as well, but didn't have the time nor, I don't think, the energy to go over there and back,. This route gains 4000 feet, which is significant for me.

Descending is nothing too special, just be totally sure you go down the same way you came up. Hopefully you were looking behind you as I suggested. Go back over the false summit; do NOT turn left and go down McCoy Gulch; continue straight over the top of Point 13,975, and then descend to the saddle between Carbonate and Tabegauche where you came up. From here, retrace the path back down the valley to the trailhead.

This is a fantastic route with plenty of wilderness flavor and plenty of isolation. I saw no one before reaching the summit, and only one party of four on the way down who were coming up behind me. That's it, and I climbed on a Saturday. It's an incredible route if you don't mind being off-trail!