White Chuck Mountain, South Face. On August 31, Ted Carpenter, Mike Heath, and I made the first ascent of the south face on this often climbed peak located some 10 miles east-southeast of Darrington. From the basin on the west side of the peak, which can now be reached by a short hike from a logging road at 4000 feet, we climbed rockslides below the southwest face to an elevation of 6000 feet at a point just opposite an alpine pond. The narrow south face lies between two steep rock couloirs on a direct line between this pond and the summit. Two hundred feet of rock scrambling brought us to the base of the steep 800-foot face. The route lies on the left side of the face and follows a series of chimneys interrupted by short ledges to within sixty feet of the summit, and there a heather ledge leads right to the south ridge and the top. The face is continuous class 4 climbing with several class 5 pitches, including two difficult exits at the top of chimneys. Six nuts and two pitons were used for protection. Easy access and excellent rock (solid green schist) make this an attractive climb.

Joseph Vance