West Ridge Direct

Gain the West Ridge proper as described for the

West Ridge (Hourglass) route

. After passing the last large notch in the ridgline, climb to the ridge proper, instead of traversing south to the Hourglass gully. Once on the west ridge proper, stay on the top of the ridge for nearly the entire climb, negotiating the towers and headwalls as they come.

There are two "crux" sections on this route, a roughly 5.4 chimney with a large chockstone at the top, followed shortly by a 5.2 slab with some old webbing near the top.

The 5.4 Chimney

youtube.com/watch?v=Wkk36DR…

The 5.2 Slab

youtube.com/watch?v=VhBxhtQ…

Near the summit we turned south towards some cairns that mark the upper portion of the hourglass route, however, I think you can stay on the ridge all of the way to the summit.