Ripsaw Ridge
Peak C to Peak G
Date: 07/03/2021
Partners: Kristi Henes, Jeremy Miller, Heather Ryan (photos by all)
Trialhead: Piney River Ranch
Summits: Peak C, C-Prime, Peak D, Peak E, Peak F, Peak G
Trailhead to Waterfall Camp: 3 Miles - 600ft - 1hr
Camp to Peak C to Peak G and back to the Piney River Ranch : 11 Miles - 6150ft - 15.75hrs
Peak C 14ers.com Page
C-Prime 14ers.com Page
Peak D 14ers.com Page
Peak E 14ers.com Page
Peak F 14ers.com Page
Peak G 14ers.com Page
Our plan was to traverse Ripsaw Ridge from Peak C to Peak G with the option of continuing to Peak H over Black BM if conditions allowed. The weather would need to be perfect given that most of the day would be spent up high on technical terrain (class 3/4 and a wee bit of low 5).
We began hiking at 4:00am from our camp at the cascading waterfalls about 3 miles in from Piney River Ranch. We hiked a steep trail through wet brush to the meadow below Knee Knocker Pass then ascended a short gully which gave us access to Tarn Basin below Peak C's SW couloir also known as CC Rider.
CC Rider was somewhat loose and had some soft snow midway up. Ice axes were handy but not mandatory and we did not use micro spikes or crampons.
We exited CC Rider roughly 300ft below the top of the coulie and summitted Peak C on class 2+ / easy class 3 terrain.
From the summit of Peak C we had incredible views of Mount Powell to the north and our day's work on Ripsaw Ridge to the south. We chatted, snacked and took in the views before embarking on the journey that would cover 5 additional summits.
We spent most of the day on class 3/4 terrain with touches of low 5 here and there. We stayed the ridge as much as we could with the general rule of dropping to the south/west as needed.
We did not find summit registers except on Peak E which was placed on August 7th 1948. We were a little disappointed that there was no pen, and we were unable to sign. However, it was cool to be able to touch a relic of Gore history.
The most fun and sustained terrain was between Peak E and Peak G. For the most part we stayed the ridge and summitted these peaks directly.
By the time we reached Peak F weather was coming in and we knew we needed to pick up the pace. We did not want to be on this terrain with wet rock let alone electricity.
As we reached Peak G we started to hear thunder and decided to descend as quickly as possible. We would not continue to Peak H or backtrack to the F-G saddle (both of which had much easier descent options). We descended just north of G's summit.
The descent was challenging and often felt like we were climbing down a waterfall as it started to rain. By the time we reached the basin below I was thinking the descent was the physical crux of the day.
From the scree filled basin the bushwhack to the Piney River Trail was tedious but not too bad by Gore Range standards.
When we reached the trail, I jokingly asked if the trail would have more deadfall than the bush. I guess the question wasn't so funny because it was true. The seemingly endless trail back to camp often disappeared, was littered with deadfall and passed through marshes. Maybe it would have felt better with fresh legs.
After packing up camp we headed back to our vehicles at Piney River Ranch where we shared beers, George Clooney Tequilla and enjoyed the sunset together. What a great day!
Thanks to Brandon Chalk and Brent Herring for beta on this route.
Map Note: Looking at our track in CalTopo it appears that we did not reach the south summit of Peak G. However, we in fact did reach the south summit as there were no points to the south that were as high as we were standing. In addition, although the south summit is labeled 'Peak G' in CalTopo, the elevation of the north summit is higher. Seems to be a map error.
14m - 6750ft - 16.75hrs
Ripsaw Ridge behind a double rainbow on the drive to Piney River Ranch
Another rainbow foreshadows what would be a great trip
Amazing views on the approach from the Piney River Ranch
A full view of Ripsaw on the 3 mile hike to camp
Camp photo by Jeremy while scouting cross creek hammock options
Jeremy climbs the col that would connect us from the bottom of Knee Knocker Pass to Tarn Basin below CC Rider Couloir. East Corner and Game Pass behind
Below Peak C's SW Couloir aka CC Rider
Looking up CC Rider
The snow in CC Rider was relatively soft - no crampons required - Axe nice to have
From CC Rider you could keep the terrain at class 2+ or easy three
Mount Powell from the summit of Peak C
Looking south along Ripsaw from Peak C's summit
Kristi closes in on Peak C's summit with full view of our day's work behind
Stoked to get this party started
Kristi on C Prime
Climbing C Prime
Jeremy on C Prime
Prime Time
Descending C Prime
King of the Mountain
On the way to Peak D
Peak D
C Prime's south ridge
We... uh... 'reached around' and ascended Peak D from the west
Approaching Peak D's summit with Peak's E, F and G behind
Unnamed lake above Bubble Lake just east of Peak D
Cheesin for Deez Nuts on Deez summit
Mordor and the road in front of us on the way to Peak E - The Gore looking rugged
Tricky downclimb
Kristi approaching the summit of Peak E. Peak F (hard right) and Peak G behind
Peak E's summit register placed on August 7th 1948. We were disappointed there was no pen... we were unable to add our names.
E is for Excited to head over to Peak F
Peak E to Peak F was the most technical (and fun) section of the the ridge
The ridge bookended by Peak L and Peak O
Descending Peak E - There are three people in this shot
Dammit... we forgot our skis! The Peak E-F saddle. We sped up as storms started to collect. We summited Peak F directly from the north and headed on to Peak G
Heather evaluating ascent options on G's northwest ridge
Navigating Peak G's summit ridge to the true summit to the south. Rain was very close at this point and thunder was getting closer.
What up G!
Due to weather, we bailed on our option to traverse to Peak H over Black BM and descended from Peak G's summit
We did not have time to backtrack to the easier descent option from the F-G saddle
Descending Peak G was tricky, wet and steep
The Spider - West Booth Pass far right
After the brutal 3000ft descent from G to the valley floor, the trail back to camp was tough to follow and strewn with deadfall... albeit gorgeous
After packing up camp we headed back to Piney River Lodge where we met up with George Clooney for a sunset happy hour