Cascades: First Ascent of the S.W. Face of Sloan Peak. On 31 July 1948 Jack Schwabland and Fred Beckey, inquiring into possibilities on the rounded, sheer W. face of Sloan Peak, found that the lower portion of the S. face was climbable. A series of traverses to the left—where the climbers were somewhat miffed to discover goat hair—led to a sharp granite arête on the W. face. This the climbers ascended, alternating in the lead. A series of curious zigzag ledges that cut out a route up vertical cliff bands makes the ascent possible. The descent by the regular route was not easy, for the climbers had to traverse a large snow field in sneakers.

F. B.