Attempted the difficult Class 3-4 West Ridge on Quandary from the Blue Lakes trailhead on Sunday, September 12th. Over the last three years, only one out of three previous attempts to reach the summit along this route was successful. Routefinding around the rugged rock towers is extremely difficult and a few cairns on the ridgeline lead you into steep, exposed Class 4-5 areas. A 1-3 inch deep layer of snow, combined with the generally loose rock on the West Ridge, made climbing very precarious on the steep sections. Across the valley, the North face of the Continental Divide - with North Star, Wheeler, and Fletcher - were dusted with snow. Looks like winter is arriving early in the high country.
After five hours of climbing, backtracking, and trial and error on alternate routes, I found the summit. The route is completely unmarked and included downclimbing two steep chutes, traversing around towers, and ascending two loose, steep couliors. A couple of sections were Class 4 due to exposure. Although it seemed different during the climb, the route closely followed the successful climbing route I completed for the first time last September. (Actually, after failing twice on the route in 1997, in 1998 I climbed Quandary via the standard East Ridge route and then downclimbed the West Ridge to try and scout out a climbing route.) The approach primarily followed the South (right) side of the ridge, with one short section where you cross over the ridge to traverse around steep rock areas, and then cross over again to the right side of the ridge before reaching the short, steep climb to the summit. The day was mostly clear with high, fast moving clouds. But the 40-45F temperature with a cold 30-40 mph wind suggested a November or December day. Too tired to retrace the climbing route, a 3,000 vertical foot knee bashing trail quickly drops directly down a ridge from the summit to the Blue Lakes dam. The West Ridge is a short, hard climb with challenges as tough as standard routes in the Crestones, the Wilsons, and Capital Peak (sans the Knife Edge).
Doug Cook
September 11, 1999
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