Descend via the climbing route. It is essential that climbers know how to descend the mountain in poor weather. A frequent mistake is to follow the fall line which will lead the climber to the cliffs of Zigzag canyon. If caught in poor weather descend from the summit along the Hogsback to the left of Crater Rock, and then follow the magnetic south bearing which should take the climber near the top of the Palmer lift.
Slow groups do not pose the only problem at the Pearly Gates. Quite often there will be dangerously ill-prepared climbers, no ice-ax, no crampons going either way on this path and they are at an extremely high risk of slipping and falling, likely right into you or your group. Here is one of these geniuses I speak of.
I climbed this route in late June via the "Old Chute" variation. I was very surprised by how steep, exposed, and prolonged the steep climbing was. We started at 1:30am and were out of the Chute right about the time the sun cleared the headwall, meaning we/the chute had been in shade up until that point. By the time we got to the summit, enjoyed it for about 20 min, and came back, the snow was slushy and kicking in steps on the 45ish degree slope began to get dicey. It would have been worse even later in the day.
Also, things started melting and falling off the mountain. Especially on the Old Chute variation it seemed like there were chunks of ice/rocks breaking off every couple minutes and you are directly in the fall line. Combine that with the fact that on busy days, you might be ascending/descending at a pace dictated by other climbers, things can get dicey. I was hit by ice several times.
With that said, start early (in late season, absolutely before 2am, I wish we had started before 1), and bring a helmet. you will be down climbing the chute backwards with the top of your head facing the direction of softball sized chunks of ice whizzing down at 70 mph. Sounds obvious, but many climbers didnt have helmets.
climbed/summited on June 27th. It was probably the latest in the season that I've climbed but snow pack was OK, snow all the way down to parking lot still. it was a windy day blowing 20-40mph all day, perhaps that's why there were probably no more than 20 or so people climbing that day despite being on saturday.
we left the climbers registration at 2:20 AM, and appeared to be the LAST group going up. Surprisingly, there was no bergschrund. We went straight up Hogsback then right to Pearly Gates. There were couple of groups coming down above the Pearly Gates but no one on the summit. We then traversed west to Old Crater, which by that time was in the sun, and as we descended the Old Crater I noticed a tiny crack where Schrund would usually be at, but it was about 30 feet in horizontal width, and the crack was merely inches wide, so it was very hard to see from Hogsback as it was on the downsloping side on climber's left. overall, it was a pleasant climb despite the wind.
tbnelson - Apr 3, 2002 8:44 pm - Hasn't voted
Route CommentDescent
Descend via the climbing route. It is essential that climbers know how to descend the mountain in poor weather. A frequent mistake is to follow the fall line which will lead the climber to the cliffs of Zigzag canyon. If caught in poor weather descend from the summit along the Hogsback to the left of Crater Rock, and then follow the magnetic south bearing which should take the climber near the top of the Palmer lift.
skicavs - Jul 29, 2005 9:09 am - Hasn't voted
Route CommentSlow groups do not pose the only problem at the Pearly Gates. Quite often there will be dangerously ill-prepared climbers, no ice-ax, no crampons going either way on this path and they are at an extremely high risk of slipping and falling, likely right into you or your group. Here is one of these geniuses I speak of.
sendintheclowns - Jun 27, 2016 4:00 pm - Hasn't voted
Start Early, Bring a HelmetI climbed this route in late June via the "Old Chute" variation. I was very surprised by how steep, exposed, and prolonged the steep climbing was. We started at 1:30am and were out of the Chute right about the time the sun cleared the headwall, meaning we/the chute had been in shade up until that point. By the time we got to the summit, enjoyed it for about 20 min, and came back, the snow was slushy and kicking in steps on the 45ish degree slope began to get dicey. It would have been worse even later in the day.
Also, things started melting and falling off the mountain. Especially on the Old Chute variation it seemed like there were chunks of ice/rocks breaking off every couple minutes and you are directly in the fall line. Combine that with the fact that on busy days, you might be ascending/descending at a pace dictated by other climbers, things can get dicey. I was hit by ice several times.
With that said, start early (in late season, absolutely before 2am, I wish we had started before 1), and bring a helmet. you will be down climbing the chute backwards with the top of your head facing the direction of softball sized chunks of ice whizzing down at 70 mph. Sounds obvious, but many climbers didnt have helmets.
keitasakon - Jun 30, 2020 4:03 pm - Hasn't voted
late june climbclimbed/summited on June 27th. It was probably the latest in the season that I've climbed but snow pack was OK, snow all the way down to parking lot still. it was a windy day blowing 20-40mph all day, perhaps that's why there were probably no more than 20 or so people climbing that day despite being on saturday.
we left the climbers registration at 2:20 AM, and appeared to be the LAST group going up. Surprisingly, there was no bergschrund. We went straight up Hogsback then right to Pearly Gates. There were couple of groups coming down above the Pearly Gates but no one on the summit. We then traversed west to Old Crater, which by that time was in the sun, and as we descended the Old Crater I noticed a tiny crack where Schrund would usually be at, but it was about 30 feet in horizontal width, and the crack was merely inches wide, so it was very hard to see from Hogsback as it was on the downsloping side on climber's left. overall, it was a pleasant climb despite the wind.