Ben Ward came to visit from Montana so we could finally climb something in the Cascades together – despite being climbing partners for 12+ years, we had never shared a rope in the Cascades! We debated a long list of options ranging from relaxed romps to absolute beatdowns. In the end, we decided to engage in vacation alpinism in the Stuart Range. We climbed Mt Stuart’s West Ridge on August 23, 2025.

The West Ridge of Mt Stuart is a popular route, luring climbers in with an approachable level of difficulty on a spectacular mountain. While the technical grade of 5.6 might make this seem like an ideal beginner route, I have had the route on my list for years with the idea that it would be best experienced with a dialed, fit partner. Ben and I hiked to a campsite in Headlight Basin in brutal heat the day before our climb and spent the afternoon sipping beers while soaking our feet in the creek – perfect.

The next morning, we hiked to the base of the route and began scrambling God’s Staircase. This section of the route covers 1000 feet of chill scrambling on impeccable stone. So fun! At Long John Tower, the climbing looked very intimidating but surprised us with fun, mellow scrambling on more good rock. This is awesome!

We had suffered in brutal heat the day before, so Ben and I overpacked on water with nearly 5 liters each. It didn’t take long for us to realize how fast we were climbing the route, so I periodically stopped on ledges to chug water, getting some weight out of my pack and into my belly. Further reducing the need for water, the route stays in the shade until the afternoon – a pleasant surprise! We enjoyed cool temps throughout the climb and even put on jackets at one point. This is the first alpine route I’ve done where I became more hydrated while climbing.

After passing Long John Tower we traversed gullies and ledges to the West Ridge notch. Ben recognized the spot where he and his dad had been rescued via helicopter 20 years ago, when Ben had been only 16 years old. They had been so close to the top! Ben and I cruised by and roped up given that our route description indicated six 30-meter pitches would come next. In truth, the first four pitches were fourth class with the odd low-fifth move, sometimes very exposed. We simulclimbed where we could and soon found the final 5.6 pitch. This pitch is surprisingly fun, well protected and definitely soft for 5.6. After three hours on route, we stepped onto the spectacular summit of Mt Stuart.

The descent of the Cascadian Couloir was as hot, sandy and demoralizing as expected, but soon we made it back to camp for more creekside chilling. We had originally planned to climb Ingalls Peak the next day, but instead opted to hike out in the early morning to avoid the heat.

Gear Notes

There is not much technical climbing on this route and the terrain leads itself to short pitches or simulclimbing. A fair amount of fixed gear (pitons, nuts, cams) exists where the climbing steepens. If I were to do this route again, I would bring a 30m rope, no nuts, and cams .4-1 (optional 2).

Strategy Notes

There are a wide range of strategies that work well for this route. We wanted the full backcountry relaxation experience which led us to the three day program, but this route would very easily go in a single day.

I found the routefinding to be intuitive on the route, but it seems that many people overthink things and get off track. I recommend saving the information from this report – you really don’t need any other beta.

https://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/topic/44925-stuart-west-ridge-more-beta-than-you-can-use/