NW Ridge after failed traverse directly from Huxley
Secor gives a class 3 rating to the south ridge of Huxley, so I believed that I could complete the traverse to Warlow by staying on or near the ridge connecting these two peaks. This proved feasible at first, with some intricate and exciting route-finding that required many transitions from the east side of the ridge to the west, then from the west to the east, and so on. Both sides of Huxley are so shear that I was forced to stay near the crest of the ridge despite all the back-and-forth, which made the scramble feel quite adventurous. I was anxious to reach and hopefully surpass the angels' wings that guarded the west side of the mountain, as these appeared to be the greatest and most uncertain obstacles. Fortunately, I was able to get around them, but this required some 30 feet of vertical off-width downclimbing (class 4), which frustrated my expectations and made me feel uneasy.
The climbing only got harder from here, until the ridge came to a single pinch point with serious consequences. I struggled for a long time over whether to continue, and, if so, which path to take around the pinch. In the end, I decided to back off. I felt that I could most likely succeed by attempting the right side, but I was tired and the risk seemed hard to justify in light of the fact that completing the ridge was an unnecessary goal, as there are easier ways to Mount Warlow. My hopes were high that I could find an escape along the west side of the mountain that would enable me to access easier terrain without having to repeat the whole ridge. Unfortunately, this proved impossible. I wasted much time and energy dropping down into a chute, reaching an impasse, rounding a rib, reaching another impasse, climbing up a chute and around another rib, reaching yet another impasse, and so on all the way back to a point midway along the route that I used hours earlier to ascend Mt. Huxley. And it happened that I could not turn south and head for Mt. Warlow until I descended the remainder of this route and essentially based Mt. Huxley. So the "traverse" to Mt. Warlow hardly proved to be a traverse at all. It was more like two distinct climbs, with one of the climbs (Huxley) involving a pointlessly tortuous descent, like some romp through the Winchester Mystery House.
My guess is that the party or parties responsible for rating this ridge class 3 did not climb along the actual ridge for all of the way. They probably found some ledgy terrain 100-200 feet below the ridge on the east side, which appeared from the top of Mt. Warlow to possibly afford a less difficult passage. Still, this terrain appeared so far below the ridge that I would hardly think to call it a ridge at all--more like a chute or face.
Vitaliy M. - Aug 31, 2013 12:36 pm Date Climbed: Aug 24, 2013
Day 2 of a 3-day loop thru EVO basin, snow from about 10.8K on up. Glissaded down the Warlow Glacier on the north face to traverse to Spencer.
Bob Burd - Jul 6, 2007 9:35 pm Date Climbed: Jun 4, 2007
Fiske-Warlow-Huxley Traverse
Part of a long dayhike with Matthew and Rick, the section between Fiske and Huxley via Warlow was some of the best scrambling I've found in the Sierra. We came over Wallace Col, which is probably the fastest route to this area. Trip Report
Route Climbed: Direct South Ridge Date Climbed: July 6th, 2004
A fun class 2 scramble from Muir Pass. Sticking directly to the ridgeline offers one a little more exposure than one would encounter traversing the SW slope. A fun seldom visited peak.
CWessels - Jul 31, 2021 8:48 pm Date Climbed: Jul 12, 2021
NW Ridge after failed traverse directly from HuxleySecor gives a class 3 rating to the south ridge of Huxley, so I believed that I could complete the traverse to Warlow by staying on or near the ridge connecting these two peaks. This proved feasible at first, with some intricate and exciting route-finding that required many transitions from the east side of the ridge to the west, then from the west to the east, and so on. Both sides of Huxley are so shear that I was forced to stay near the crest of the ridge despite all the back-and-forth, which made the scramble feel quite adventurous. I was anxious to reach and hopefully surpass the angels' wings that guarded the west side of the mountain, as these appeared to be the greatest and most uncertain obstacles. Fortunately, I was able to get around them, but this required some 30 feet of vertical off-width downclimbing (class 4), which frustrated my expectations and made me feel uneasy.
The climbing only got harder from here, until the ridge came to a single pinch point with serious consequences. I struggled for a long time over whether to continue, and, if so, which path to take around the pinch. In the end, I decided to back off. I felt that I could most likely succeed by attempting the right side, but I was tired and the risk seemed hard to justify in light of the fact that completing the ridge was an unnecessary goal, as there are easier ways to Mount Warlow. My hopes were high that I could find an escape along the west side of the mountain that would enable me to access easier terrain without having to repeat the whole ridge. Unfortunately, this proved impossible. I wasted much time and energy dropping down into a chute, reaching an impasse, rounding a rib, reaching another impasse, climbing up a chute and around another rib, reaching yet another impasse, and so on all the way back to a point midway along the route that I used hours earlier to ascend Mt. Huxley. And it happened that I could not turn south and head for Mt. Warlow until I descended the remainder of this route and essentially based Mt. Huxley. So the "traverse" to Mt. Warlow hardly proved to be a traverse at all. It was more like two distinct climbs, with one of the climbs (Huxley) involving a pointlessly tortuous descent, like some romp through the Winchester Mystery House.
My guess is that the party or parties responsible for rating this ridge class 3 did not climb along the actual ridge for all of the way. They probably found some ledgy terrain 100-200 feet below the ridge on the east side, which appeared from the top of Mt. Warlow to possibly afford a less difficult passage. Still, this terrain appeared so far below the ridge that I would hardly think to call it a ridge at all--more like a chute or face.
Vitaliy M. - Aug 31, 2013 12:36 pm Date Climbed: Aug 24, 2013
Evolution Traverse27 hour c2c climb of Evolution Traverse.
danman3156 - Sep 26, 2012 3:55 pm Date Climbed: Sep 23, 2012
From Fiske Warlow SaddleFun and interesting ridge climb to summit.
seano - Feb 4, 2012 2:02 pm Date Climbed: Sep 15, 2011
From HuxleyThe traverse is spicy from Huxley to the saddle, then a boulder-hop up Warlow. Trip report
Princess Buttercup - Dec 1, 2009 6:26 pm Date Climbed: Jul 4, 2009
From Muir Pass w/ Full packDay 2 of a 3-day loop thru EVO basin, snow from about 10.8K on up. Glissaded down the Warlow Glacier on the north face to traverse to Spencer.
Bob Burd - Jul 6, 2007 9:35 pm Date Climbed: Jun 4, 2007
Fiske-Warlow-Huxley TraversePart of a long dayhike with Matthew and Rick, the section between Fiske and Huxley via Warlow was some of the best scrambling I've found in the Sierra. We came over Wallace Col, which is probably the fastest route to this area. Trip Report
thebeave7 - Oct 22, 2004 5:19 am
Route Climbed: Direct South Ridge Date Climbed: July 6th, 2004A fun class 2 scramble from Muir Pass. Sticking directly to the ridgeline offers one a little more exposure than one would encounter traversing the SW slope. A fun seldom visited peak.
Eric J Lee