Dyer West Ridge Comparisons?

[Corndiggs]

Curious to get input from anyone who has climbed this route (staying on or close to the ridge) on how you would compare the difficulty vs say the SW ridge of Sneffels? From what I've found, I'm guessing Dyer is a little tougher. If so, how does it stack up to the standard route on Pyramid?

I'm camping at Turquoise Lake this weekend and planning on a 6am start Saturday if anybody cares to join.

[Monster5]

I don't recall anything on it comparable or as difficult as Pyramid or Sneffles SW. I'd say considerably easier. A few 3rd class scrambling sections, a headwall, and a small/easy notch stick out with optional 4th (short, not bad). Bypasses available climber's right. Of note - we tried to climb a lower headwall directly at 4th or so, but a number of boulders failed under me and I went for a pitch and tumble. It was quite painful. Careful of loose.

Album: https://plus.google.com/photos/10361531 ... 1194127457

Edit - stayed proper except for exiting the notch (sketch snow - winter)

[ameristrat]

One of my friends did it a few weeks ago and called it loose and very spicy. Let's see if he can chime in here.

[Wildernessjane]

I didn't think it was too loose as long as you stayed on the ridge or to the right of the ridge. We got drawn to the left at one point and it was really loose. I don't think it's even comparable to Sneffels or Pyramid (like apples and oranges). My climbing partner thought is was more challenging than the West ridge of Quandary, which I have not done so I can't speak to this directly. I would say it's definitely more challenging than Kelso ridge though. There was a fair amount of snow on the ridge when we did it though so this could've colored our perceptions a bit.

[colokeith]

I just did this a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was quite easy. There was a little bit of loose rock but not in any sections where it mattered. Most difficulties can be avoided if desired.
Not much in the way of immediate exposure. I would say it is comparable to sawtooth in difficulty. I thought it was easier than other easy class 3 13ers (kelso ridge, wetterhorn, kit carson, Lindsay, Longs).

[BillMiddlebrook]

When I saw this thread, I figured I'd just post a link to the 13ers.com route description but then realized I never finished it and it's still listed as "under construction."

It's a short route but there's definitely Class 3 and at least one Class 4 move which is hard to avoid. The chimney move (photo below) is as difficult as the toughest moves on the standard Pyramid route but it's short and sweet. The bigger problem is the loose rock.

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[colokeith]

I just did this a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was quite easy. There was a little bit of loose rock but not in any sections where it mattered. Most difficulties can be avoided if desired.
Not much in the way of immediate exposure. I would say it is comparable to sawtooth in difficulty. I thought it was easier than other easy class 3 13ers (kelso ridge, wetterhorn, kit carson, Lindsay, Longs).

Ignore this statement. For some reason I read this as Father Dyer. Bill's comments made me realize this is Dyer Mountain which I have not climbed.

/Go home Keith you're drunk

[BillMiddlebrook]

lol

been there

[TaylorHolt]

One of my friends did it a few weeks ago and called it loose and very spicy. Let's see if he can chime in here.

Chiming in. It's loose in spots, but I wouldn't say that it's any looser than most of the popular class III/IV routes. The difficulty of this route depends on how you handle the last ~500ft. If you stay ridge proper, there are multiple sections that I'd call class IV and qualify as "spicy". If you take the bypasses down and to the right of the ridge, it looked to be much easier and stay at class III the entire way.

I stayed ridge proper, and I'd say that the moves are considerably harder than Sneffels SW Ridge, Kelso Ridge, Wetterhorn, Lindsey NW Ridge, etc. If you take the bypasses, Dyer would probably be comparable/slightly tougher than Sneffels SW Ridge. Fun route though, enjoy!

[Corndiggs]

Thanks everyone - I'm excited for this one!

Bill - I noticed your route page was under construction - I seem to be getting out to 13ers.com more and more often now that I'm getting close to finishing the 14ers.

I definitely appreciate all the hard work you've put in to providing such excellent respources for all of us!

[BillMiddlebrook]

Thanks!

I do try hard to get stuff out there on both sites. Right now I'm working on the North Ridge route on 13er Gladstone Peak...