Direct Northwest buttress

The guidebooks and Mountain project provide information for the upper section of the NW buttress of Sharks nose that requires ascending the gulley to the North, then traversing the center of the mountain on the upper ramp to intersect the upper buttress a few pitches from the top. For those with a little more adventure the entire buttress can be climbed, adding a few additional and somewhat more difficult pitches to the ascent. Here is one way to climb the buttress. There are certainly many given all the options available. I have no idea who did the first ascent but surely it was not my son and me given the obviousness of the line.

Approach: Hike up to the base of the mountain – right to the bottom of the obvious NW buttress. Go 10 meters further up the gulley and prepare to climb.

Pitch 1 – 4th and easy 5th class 100-120 feet: Climb weaknesses in the rock up onto the buttress proper and belay at the bottom of an obvious, smooth, right facing, right leaning corner with a thin crack in the back.

Pitch 2 – 5.9 100 feet: Climb the thin right leaning, right facing corner. Thin protection required. Finish up another 60 feet to a good belay ledge.

Pitch 3 – 5.6 to 5.7, 200 feet: Climb flakes along the right past and up a steep wall with a thin crack near its top. Belay on the lower traverse ledge.

Pitch 4 – 5.8 to 5.9 150 feet: Traverse down the ledge to the left about 30 feet. Climb a left leaning crack up and left, then straight up over a small overhang and into an open book corner. Climb it to a steep roof area. Climb a left leaning hand crack underneath a roof to a corner. Climb up the corner, over the top and onto a smooth ramp. Climb up the ramp to the left to the base of the second belay on the Sharks Nose standard upper NW buttress route.

Finish up the standard route 3 more pitches to the summit.

Approach: Hike up to the base of the mountain – The route begins right to the bottom of the obvious NW buttress. Go 10 meters further up the gulley and prepare to climb.

Descent - same as for ther standard NW buttress (or any route on the mountain) rappeling back down the upper section of this route and into the gulley then descending the gully or hiking out across the overhanging tower approach back into the Cirque.

Single set of cams to 2.5 inches including microcams for the crux pitch. Single set of wires with RP/brass wires for the crux pitch.