We hiked on up to the base of the climb, with the stunning Mt. Stuart looming behind us. This was my third time up here in about a month, and I don't think I'll get tired of it any time soon.

Ingall's South ridge (face) is a relatively easy climb, being equated to the South face of The Tooth in terms of difficulty, and in terms of being a great first alpine climb! It is 4 pitches of 5.4, and has a 5.6 pitch option in the middle. Much of the rock is Serpentine, which is actually quite slick and keeps the climb interesting! To do this climb efficiently as a team of three, we decided to have two 60m ropes and I led all pitches while clipping both ropes. Sally was tied to the end of one of the ropes, and Dan was on the other. This meant that when I got to the top I had to belay both on my alpine ATC, and it meant that they could climb relatively close to eachother (with a gap of course so that if the person above fell, they wouldn't fall on the person below). For it being Sally's first alpine climb, she said it was great to have a fellow climber close by to ask questions to and be a distraction from any fear that may pop up.

Climbing on two 60m ropes was great with a team of three because it meant that we could lead the pitches in long 60m pitches. We ended up doing the climb in 3 pitches, which was actually quite efficient! Being able to rappel down in 60m lengths made it so that we were able to descend in 2 rappels. This really improved our time, and the climb itself only took about three hours, which for a team of three on a 4 pitch route isn't bad if I say so myself!

The slippery Serpentine rock makes it so that you certainly need to think about your footing, and this can be a bit heady for a new climber, or a new leader. However once you get used to it, it is pretty cruiser!

We were all very happy to get out in a gorgeous place and so simply be alive in the time and space that we are in. Thankful for life.