A great picture of the whole route is found on the main
Gladstone Peak page, the left ridge in the photo. This route has the potential to increase the value of a Wilson group combo by sticking to the ridge through a previously not recorded section of terrain. Follow description on
Mt Wilson North Slopes via
Rock of Ages Approach to the upper (east) end of Navajo Basin.
Photo
5 shows the ascent on the right and the descent to the left/foreground from the Rock of Ages saddle. The Mt Wilson/Gladstone saddle in the center of the photo is the start of the difficulties of the route. The notch left of that is where you will encounter the large headwall in photo
2.
From Navajo Basin, follow the beginning of the Mt Wilson North Slopes route until around 13000 ft begin contouring east to the Mt Wilson/Gladstone saddle @~13,200 feet. I did this in September 2018, and there was minimal snowfield, but earlier season one could take the glacier directly from Navajo Basin to the saddle.
1 shows the first difficulty that may be climbed head on ~5.5-5.7 or dodged to the south.
Regain the ridge at this prominent buttress:
2. There are many appealing 5.10 and harder appearing routes up this, but I soloed the far left side through a chimney at ~5.5. Head back southeast through steep terrain to regain the proper ridge at the top of the headwall.
Continue delicately through several more teeter-totter boulder problems and large amount of narrow ridge with extremely loose talus through the remaining portion of the ridge
3.
Looking back on the narrow ridge and Mt Wilson from near the summit:
4.
Descend the
North Ridge of Gladstone back to the Rock of Ages Saddle.
