The Snout, The Golden Ramp Route. After the rain made it impossible for Jay ]Ossiander and me to do the east face of Liberty Bell, we started to look around for something short to climb. Hiking south of the Cutthroat Lake trail, a half-mile from Cutthroat Horse Camp we found a rock buttress we named the Snout. Go south, staying on the west side of a gully until above a cliff band. Traverse below gorp to the base of the climb. The route is the best free climb in Washington. Start in a dihedral with a small roof. After one pitch, go up and left and walk to a pine tree. Continue up a dihedral to a roof and then up a ramp to a ledge. Do a hard F9 traverse right off the ledge and then go up to a short dihedral. The next pitch is up a two-inch crack (short) and right on a ledge. The next pitch (some hard F9 face climbing) ends in a chimney. One is now at the base of the hardest pitch. Go up a dihedral in a two-inch jam-crack. There is only one F10 section and the rest is quite enjoyable. The final pitch is a F7 chimney. A small selection of pins is needed, as most of the F9 pitches are unprotected. NCCS III, F9 or 10, A1.

Mark Weigelt, unaffiliated