On July 21, 2020, Steph Williams and I climbed, in a one-day round-trip, a nearly continuous rib that starts amid the folds of the west-facing aspect beneath Silver Star Mountain’s west summit, and terminates close to that summit. Our route starts about 70m up and on the left side of the rib that forms the right side of the Northwest Couloir (Allen-Keller; see AAJ 2006).

We approached from a large pullout at mile marker 165 along Washington State Route 20, and then took the Larch Bench trail past campsites, walking toward the west summit through a short section of forest leading to talus. From the talus field below the west side of the Silver Star massif, we ascended toward the Northwest Couloir.

We gained access to the first pitch with a left-trending scramble on decomposing granite, and made an anchor near a crack of varying size. Steph then led a crack that led to a series of ledges covered in kitty litter–like rock, trees, and lichen. Pitch two was a 50m hand- and fist-size crack in a large left-facing corner, the top of which ended in a leftward shuffle along a two- to three-inch- ledge that led to the crest of the rib.

We simul-climbed fourth-class terrain for one long pitch on the crest that led us to a notch. From here, we ascended a right-facing set of golden mini-corners, which we reached by a short scramble down and right. I led a pitch that started with a tips crack then transitioned to face features that ended at the base of a fabulous right-facing dihedral. I led this dihedral in one long pitch, belaying near another golden-hued corner feature. I carefully climbed a crack on the right face and then a chimney above, and belayed on a sloping ledge when I exited the chimney.

We scrambled right about 50m to a point roughly 45m directly below the west summit. I then led  a pitch of face climbing on clean granite scoops and cracks, belaying from the summit block. We scrambled over to the main summit and then walked down the glacier, traversed to and then over Burgundy Col, and descended the trail to the Larch Bench trail back to our car. The West Rib is 250m and goes at 5.10.

— Seth Keena

Editor's Note: In October 2019, Keena and Williams climbed the northwest face of Silver Star's west summit. See AAJ 2020.