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| Type: | Trad, Snow, Alpine, 5150 ft (1561 m), Grade IV |
| FA: | unknown |
| Page Views: | 717 total · 10/month |
| Shared By: | Daniel Birdwell on Jul 9, 2019 |
| Admins: | Daniel Birdwell |
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Description
From Mutney Lake, look to the east for a large rocky peak, this is Zamok (castle in Russian). Head in this direction across boulder fields, if you have a good eye you will spot some cairns. In front of you and to the right is Fagitor, a smaller peak with an alpine rock route in the late season. I was there in late June after a big snow year, 95% of our time was spent on the snow, but late season can be dry most of the way. Once you get a little farther from the lake, you will get a better view of the right side of the peak, and see the obvious glacier high on the peak where you are heading.
You will walk up a drainage between Fagitor on your right, and Zamok high above you to the left. Work you way up until you see a slope of reasonable angle to start ascending. We passed sever very steep snowy slopes before reaching one that was much less steep. It was about 1000ft up this slope before it rounded off to a mellower angle, this area is rock but has a few bivy sites. Walk towards the glacier, heading for the right side where it is least steep. When I crossed it, there was a lot of deep snow, but crevasses were evident. We roped up for this section.
From the top of the glacier continue along the ridge to the north, the way is pretty obvious from here. There is a fin of rock you will have to traverse around, just before the top. Depending on snow conditions you may want to protect this section, the runnout at the bottom of the slope ended in a large cliff. If there is a lot of snow, a picket may do the trick, if it is only rock, some rock gear might fit. After the fin, continue the final hundred feet or so and enjoy the view!
To decent, reverse the route. Assuming you start early, the snow will likely be shady on the way up, but be prepared for changing snow conditions later in the day.
I did this in a long day from Muntey lake, which I can recommend. You could bivy below the glacier, but its a pretty steep climb to get there with gear, and doesn't get you that much closer to the summit.
You will walk up a drainage between Fagitor on your right, and Zamok high above you to the left. Work you way up until you see a slope of reasonable angle to start ascending. We passed sever very steep snowy slopes before reaching one that was much less steep. It was about 1000ft up this slope before it rounded off to a mellower angle, this area is rock but has a few bivy sites. Walk towards the glacier, heading for the right side where it is least steep. When I crossed it, there was a lot of deep snow, but crevasses were evident. We roped up for this section.
From the top of the glacier continue along the ridge to the north, the way is pretty obvious from here. There is a fin of rock you will have to traverse around, just before the top. Depending on snow conditions you may want to protect this section, the runnout at the bottom of the slope ended in a large cliff. If there is a lot of snow, a picket may do the trick, if it is only rock, some rock gear might fit. After the fin, continue the final hundred feet or so and enjoy the view!
To decent, reverse the route. Assuming you start early, the snow will likely be shady on the way up, but be prepared for changing snow conditions later in the day.
I did this in a long day from Muntey lake, which I can recommend. You could bivy below the glacier, but its a pretty steep climb to get there with gear, and doesn't get you that much closer to the summit.
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