Ingalls Peak — South Ridge
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A beloved beginner-friendly alpine rock route on Ingalls Peak's North (main) Peak — clean golden serpentine, widely regarded as one of the best first alpine leads in the Cascades. Short, sunny, well-protected climbing in a stunning high basin beneath Mt. Stuart (FA Rankin & Colbert, 1941).
🥾 Approach · descent · season
Approach: From the Esmeralda Basin / Ingalls Way trailhead (end of Teanaway/FR-9737), take Ingalls Way ~3 mi over Ingalls Pass (6,500 ft), traverse Headlight Basin to Ingalls Lake (~4 mi, 6,400 ft). Scramble class 2-3 slabs/talus around the lake's west/north side up to the notch/cleft between the North (main) and South peaks — a small spire sits in the saddle; aim left of it. From the notch, descend west ~100 ft to a friction slab where the South Ridge begins. ~4-4.5 mi, ~3,000 ft gain, ~2.5-3 hr to base.
⬇️ Descent: Rappel the route in 3 rappels back to the base of the climb. CRITICAL: do NOT rappel all the way from the top to the top of the second pitch — a crack beneath the upper anchor snags ropes; stop at the third-pitch anchor instead. A 60 m rope is tight and comes up ~15 ft short on some raps (may require moving east on the face); a 70 m rope is recommended for margin. Then reverse the scramble and trail.
🗓️ Season: Mid/late July through September once the approach and gully are largely snow-free; peak conditions Aug-Sep. June/early July often holds steep snow below the saddle — bring an ice axe.
🎒 Gear & food
Rack: Single rack to 2 in plus a set of nuts; hexes seat well in the serpentine cracks. Plenty of long slings/alpine draws — the route zigzags. Helmets; one 60 m (70 m preferred) rope.
✅ Before you leave the trailhead
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⚠️ Hazards · fire · emergency
- Descent complexity — multi-rappel descent with serious rope-snag potential (do NOT rap all the way to the top of pitch 2; stop at the third-pitch anchor); afternoon thunderstorms a secondary exposure risk on the open ridge.
🌤️ Live conditions
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