With a perfect forecast on Sunday, Erica and I left Seattle at 7am bound for Ingalls Peak. I'd hiked past Ingalls twice before on my way to Stuart's North and West Ridges, but hadn't yet stopped to sample the goods.
We left the car at about 9:15am and were above the lake on some rocks having a snack about 2 hours later, headed first for the East Ridge of Ingalls. After a bit of snow in the couloir, we were geared up and starting the climb before 12:30pm with nobody ahead of us on the route—surprising given the peak's popularity and the forecast. The first pitch was fun for a few moves, then a bit loose and dirty, then ok up to the notch—it looked looser than it was.
From the notch I angled across the ramp to a fun move which gained the ramp next to the gendarme. I down-climbed the far side and kept going around the next rise to the following notch where I brought Erica up. The next bit was very short and steeper climbing on good rock to the base of a quick ridge. I scooted across this and wove my way around some boulders, across another spine and just barely rope stretched to the base of the crux, which was clear since the ledge petered out and the climbing on either side was much steeper. The crux itself felt pretty straightforward and protected well and I was soon on the final traverse to the summit. Erica made it up and we enjoyed clear views while finishing our lunch at 3pm.
Down-climbing on the second pitch of the East Ridge
Climbing the second pitch of the South Ridge
We'd decided the night before that, if we were moving quick enough, we'd climb the South Ridge too, so, after rapping down, we immediately climbed back up. The first pitch went quickly and then we got in a bit of a traffic jam with two parties on their way down and a party ahead of us on the way up. After a bit of hanging out, we climbed the fun second pitch in easy, off-angle cracks and then the short last pitch to the final anchor at about 5:45pm. We rapped down again, packed things up and scooted down the snow back to the rock scramble above the lake before hiking out, reaching the car at 8:30pm or so.
Great day and fun climbing. Approach shoes worked fine for all of it, which was nice and comfy—type 1 fun the whole way, minus the hike in and out!