U.S. Grant - east ridge?

[Mountain Ninja]

It seems that most people climb U.S. Grant via its SW ridge (from the V4 saddle). Can anyone give their two cents on ascending & descending U.S. Grant via its East ridge (from V2 saddle)? How does it compare with the standard SW ridge route, in terms of difficulty, route finding, etc.?

Thanks so much for any help!

[Furthermore]

I think the southeast ridge from "V2" has easier climbing but harder route finding. Also the southeast ridge is a bit more chossy than the SW ridge. I recommend climbing V4 to Grant to V2 for a quality loop.

Taken from my trip report
"For our descent, we decided to descend SE ridge of Grant where we essentially stayed on the east side of the ridge; it would have been difficult to stay on the ridge proper (photo 10). We worked our way down the ridge until we encountered a 20-40 foot cliff. This was the crux of the SE ridge. After a short traversing class 4 downclimb we regained the ridge proper (photo 11-12). Descent to the V2/Grant was easy after that downclimb. I think the climbing on the SE ridge was easier than the standard route, but that route finding was a bit more challenging."


Here is a rough outline of the route.



Here is the class 4 section.


Edited backwards "v's" in the report...

[Mountain Ninja]

Thanks for the thorough answer, Furthermore!

[djkest]

Furthermore, that picture makes the crux more class 3 ish to me. Maybe it's just the picture. In any case, thanks for the beta, I'll be sure to take lots of pics when we head up there next weekend.

EDIT: Bumping this thread has caused there to be 2 threads about US Grant East Ridge on the top of the page. My bad.

[Marmot72]

I second Derek as far a the loop - that's the itinerary I took a couple years ago (sans V2 because thunder rolled in when I hit the grassy saddle) and it is still one of my favorite days in the mountains. I took V4 by its east ridge after climbing out of Island Lake, but you could head up the ridge earlier without contouring all the way around to the lake and likely save some gain. But Island Lake is a pretty splendid sight and worth the extra gain, if you'll be descending V2's east slope and thus only glimpsing the lake from above as you run the loop.

I wouldn't advise downclimbing from V4's summit directly to the V4-Grant saddle: steep and loose. I dropped off to the west down a sandy gully and countoured under the cliffs to gain the saddle.

Regarding the east ridge off Grant, my recollection of the route differs from Derek's report. With the bypassing of only a few high towers and a few downclimbs to the south of a dozen or fifteen feet, I thought I stayed on the ridge crest. Regardless of the route you find, there will defintely be class 4 in the mix. The rock was mostly decent quality, in nice contrast the crumbling mantle of V4, but of course you have to test each hold.

[Garrett]

Furthermores pictures are a good guide, though after the labeled crux I was also able to stay higher and more near the ridge crest without much trouble. The crux is definitely class 4 and it seems like there was a few other very short class 4 sections but all are very manageable.

[djkest]

Our plan is to hit V2 and US Grant from the V2/Grant saddle. I will make sure and report back how that goes. Looks like there is plenty of ball bearing gravel on top of the more solid rocks in the area.