Mount Sanford, Southwest Rib. Jeff Woods and Wes Krause made the first ascent of the southwest rib of Mount Sanford (4949 meters, 16,237 feet), as reported in Climbing of January-February, 1981. Twenty- two miles from the nearest airstrip on the Sanford River, the route ascended the obvious rib separating the giant cirque on the south from the icefalls on the north. Beginning at 6000 feet, the climb rises over 10,000 feet. The route begins to rise dramatically at 8000 feet and has its crux at 14,000 feet. The climb took three days on the ascent and two on the descent.