"Corbett Ridge"

Route: Kidney stone couloir
Posted On: 4/27/2025, By: yaktoleft13
Info: Thanks to Ben for the TR and the beta! Couloir is in, but not for much longer. Able to drive to about 9300, passable in most cars. Snow below 11k didn't freeze overnight, so the bushwhack to treeline (and back down afterward) was brutal. Once above 11k, travel was much easier. The south-facing ledge to head over to the true summit of Corbett did not quite have exposed walkable rock on the edge and required kicking steps. The south facing snow was nasty: a 6 inch already heating in the sun by 8 am, but a firm slab underneath that was hard to gain purchase. Had dreams of going to whitehouse and Ridgway, but the snow conditions combined with getting my ass kicked by soft snow and fallen trees convinced me otherwise. 7 miles, 4k vert, 7 hours 

Route: North-Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/6/2024, By: supranihilest
Info: This route sucks as usual. The ridge up has about 26,482,932,948 blown down trees strewn and stacked in every conceivable configuration, which is tedious to walk around and scramble over. Once above treeline literally everything moves no matter what it is, patchy grass, rocks, dirt, scree, the scruffy little cliffs you scramble through, it all moves and rolls obnoxiously in every direction except up, prone to burying feet and smashing fingers. The ledge traverse from the saddle between "Son of Corbett" to "Corbett" proper is exposed and downsloping, loose dirt and talus - be very careful on that section. Great route, have done it three times (why, God, why) and that's four more times than I'd suggest even a full-fledged idiot do it. 

Route: NE ridge ascent, south ridge descent
Posted On: 7/31/2024, By: SnowAlien
Info: Started from the end of 2wd road, about 9200 ft, which is a bit below Wilson Creek TH just after 6am. Hiked the 4wd road to Burns hut (1.5 miles). Was hoping there would be a trail, but there wasn't. Gained the steep NE ridge with some Class 3 cliff bands. Near the top I chose the class 4 route vs easier/longer way around on talus. Went over "Son of Corbett" to the saddle, traversed the ledge and picked the scramble route I was comfortable with to reach the summit of Corbett. No register to be found. For the descent, I took the south ridge until about 13k, then traversed on the west side - not recommended, loose and steep. Downclimbed to the saddle with Whitehouse (loose and steep class 4-5). Continued to Whitehouse. No water on route after Burn hut. 

Route: West Couloir
Posted On: 5/30/2023, By: supranihilest
Info: I do not recommend this route over the standard north-northwest ridge, though it does work as a snow climb on an otherwise crappy peak. From the Wilson Creek trailhead we walked up FS-852-1A and made our way to the rib that splits the west and middle forks of Coal Creek. This rib is lousy with beetle kill deadfall and is very slow going, especially with skis on your back. Above 11,000 feet or so the deadfall problem largely goes away and the rib becomes steeper. Snow below treeline was a mix of postholey trash and supportive snow, so kind of annoying. At treeline we made a short, steep traverse into the now obvious couloir separating "Corbett"'s northern sub-summit and true summit. Snow in the couloir was firm and perfect for cramponing. 45 degrees tops. There's a massive cornice facing down to the esat at the top of the couloir, but not a problem from this side. We hacked a corner off the cornice and then made a testy, exposed traverse along what's normally the crux ledge. The ledge has death exposure and due to its eastern aspect the snow was very wet and we were sinking up to our thighs. Rock here is also very loose so we were super careful. The traverse was a bit time consuming but once around the corner and onto the eastern flank of the ridge we scrambled up Class 3 rock and then made a short, steep snow climb to the dry summit ridge and to the summit. We reversed our route back to the saddle and I plunge stepped the couloir while my companions skied it. Below treeline there are multiple cliffs in the drainage so eventually we were forced back into the trees. I would recommend simply skiing to treeline and descending in the trees there, as regaining the rib from the drainage was steep, exhausting, time consuming, and potentially dangerous. From there it was just a posthole and downed tree suckfest back to the cars.