Fairweather. Patrick Flanagan, Dan Stevenson and I started from the beach near Sea Otter Creek on May 1. We were heading for the west ridge of Fairweather from the Grand Plateau Glacier. We ferried two loads each to the snow in three days and began sledding from there. Day 6 found us at 4000 feet at the base of the major icefall. We had turned left up the valley that meets the Grand Plateau Glacier at 3000 feet, for it has a ramp up the icefall to its head. We went up the icefall, camping at 6000 feet, and then to the top of it at 7800 feet by the end of Day 8. Another small icefall with nasty crevasses occupied us on Day 9. We camped at 9400 feet and moved to the base of the mountain at 11,000 feet the next day. We left camp at five A.M. on May 11. We gained the west ridge by going to the col rather than over the west peak. The west ridge had good footing for crampons. We reached the summit at 1:15 P.M. We were back on the beach for our Gulf Air pick-up on May 17. [For the first ascent of this route by Canadians, see AAJ, 1992, pages 126-7.]

Paul Hodgdon