The Central Rib

The route begins on the NW side of the Chiefshead, below the NW face. The north ridge or central rib is obvious from this location to your left. Follow steep disconnected ramps and ledges up to the NE to gain the rib proper. Once on the rib, a rope might be nice for about a pitch or less depending on how comfortable you are with exposure (5.easy). After 100-200 feet, the route turns back into scrambling for a bit, until you are directly under the north ridge proper. From here, you have several choices, and route finding becomes more interesting. Stay directly on the arete proper for the 5.7 route. The rock is fairly good, and the exposure and views become increasingly robust. Venture to the left or the right of the route for easier/harder terrain. About 3/4 of the way up the route, before the final headwall, there is an option to traverse west above the NW face to avoid all of the difficulties.

Descent: Follow the northwest ridge down to Stone Man pass.

Hike into the upper Glacier Gorge, and make your way around to the west side of the Spearhead. There are a number of good bivies here, if you have a bivy permit. This is also a quite reasonable 1-day adventure.

Standard alpine rack is more than adequate.