★★ South Face Slabs 5.6

Traverse West along the base of the slabs on the South of Guardian Peak (some 4th class). At about 49.0498, -121.5314, the slab dips down. It's possible to build a belay in nearby cracks.

1. Traverse across the dip (5.6, 5m) to a good ledge with a bolt. Continue hiking West for about 80m.

2. Climb up where the angle of the slab lessens. Many variations are possible here and generally protection is adequate. (5.3, 60m).

3. Continue up the slab to a broken ledge. (5.3, 60m). Depending on your route, some simul-climbing or an extra pitch may be needed to reach the ledge. Follow the broken ledge up and climbers right through some cedars.

4. Follow cracks to a large block, go left of the block to nice ledge on the left. (5.4, 50m)

5. Scramble up, then head left following a dihedral. Step up onto the dihedral where it thins to reach a ledge next to some trees. (5.5, 60m)

You can hike up through the trees for about 30 minutes to the top of Guardian Peak.

Many variations are possible. By heading more right at the fourth pitch, it would likely be possible to climb slabs to the summit instead of hiking through the forest. The first ascent possibly went more straight up from the first pitch.

To descend, mostly reverse the route. Trees to climber's right of pitch 5 can be downclimbed (4th class). With a single 60m rope it's possible to rappel to a broken gully climber's right of pitch 4, which can be downclimbed (4th class). Descend in trees to climber's left of pitch 2 and 3 until low enough to rappel. Downclimb pitch 1.