Mt. Stuart — Complete North Ridge
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The Complete North Ridge of Mt. Stuart is one of the great moderate alpine rock routes in North America — Grade V, 5.9+, ~2,800 ft. The lower buttress adds ~16 pitches to the ~20-pitch upper ridge; long, sustained, and notorious for epics. The crux is the Great Gendarme, a short but serious 5.9 offwidth high on the ridge. THE season finale before rolling into Leavenworth for Oktoberfest.
🚗 Getting there & comms
Trailhead: Mountaineer Creek / Stuart Lake TH (early season, NE) or Ingalls Creek (late season, S)
Stuart Lake TH off Icicle Creek Rd near Leavenworth for the NE/glacier approach; or the Esmeralda/Ingalls TH (Teanaway) for the S approach. NW Forest Pass.
⛽ Last services: Leavenworth (full services) for the NE approach; Cle Elum for the south approach.
📶 Cell signal: None on the route — fully off-grid. Carry inReach/PLB and leave a detailed plan given the length.
🧗 Routes
🥾 Approach · descent · season
Approach: Early season: Mountaineer Creek / Stuart Lake TH (NE) to the Stuart Glacier basin and the base of the lower buttress; pair with the Sherpa Glacier descent. Later season: approach from the south (Ingalls Creek) and use the Cascadian Couloir descent. The Complete (lower buttress) start is reached via the Stuart Glacier.
⬇️ Descent: Cascadian Couloir (the 'Poop Chute') — steep snow/scree to the south, then back toward the approach; OR the Sherpa Glacier early season from the NE. Long, loose, route-finding-intensive. ~9–11 hr car-to-car for fast parties; most take longer — plan for a possible bivy.
🗓️ Season: Mid-July–September. Early season needs glacier/snow skills (axe, crampons) for the Stuart/Sherpa Glacier; late season favors the south approach + Cascadian descent.
🎒 Gear & food
Rack: Double rack to #3 plus a #4 (some bring a #5) for the Great Gendarme offwidth; nuts; lots of slings. Light alpine kit; axe + crampons early season for the glacier.
Ropes: Single 60m (many bring a tag line for the descent rappels).
✅ Before you leave the trailhead
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🏕️ Land · camp · water · permits
🪧 Land & passes: Alpine Lakes Wilderness (Okanogan-Wenatchee NF) — NW Forest Pass to park.
📋 Permits: NW Forest Pass to park; no climbing permit. Free self-issue wilderness permit at the TH; Stuart Lake overnight is popular.
⚠️ Hazards · fire · emergency
- Long, committing alpine route — many parties epic here; benighting common, carry a bivy contingency + headlamps
- The Great Gendarme: a short but serious 5.9 offwidth high on the ridge
- Glacier / steep snow on the Stuart & Sherpa Glaciers early season — crevasse + slip hazard (axe/crampons)
- Afternoon thunderstorms on a huge exposed ridge
- Loose rock + route-finding on the Cascadian descent
- No cell — large self-rescue distance
🆘 Emergency contacts
- Emergency (all) 911 — No cell on the route — satellite messenger/PLB
- Chelan County Sheriff (Leavenworth/NE side) — SAR 509-667-6851 — Call 911 first if you have signal
- Kittitas County Sheriff (Cle Elum/S side) — SAR 509-925-8534 — Stuart straddles the Chelan/Kittitas county line; call 911
🌤️ Live conditions
Auto-updated 20h ago · °F · tap a link for the mountain-specific picture ↓
👀 In the field
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📍 Nearby & other interest
- Mt. Stuart — West Ridge (III 5.6, the moderate line)
- Sherpa Peak
- Ingalls Peak
- The Enchantments
💬 Comments
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