My wife and I climbed the East Ridge of Ingalls on Sunday, Aug 8th. We had actually gotten up at 4am Aug 7th and driven well over Snoqualmie Pass in the pissing rain before we decided to put off the attempt for a day. We left Seattle at 4am to drive to Teanaway River. Its usually nice to get the approach over with in the early morning as the trail is South facing, extremely dry, above treeline, and heats up quickly in the sun. While there were a ton of cars in the parking lot, there was no one on the shady trail.
We hiked in fast partially to beat the heat but also to beat other parties. We were afraid of other parties on route as we have heard there is alot of potential for rock fall in the approach gully, so motored to the rope-up spot for the East Ridge in 3 hours. While the approach gully looks yucky from below, it is fine, and even well travelled.
The climb starts about 50 ft left of the deep chimney where the gully steepens. The first pitch is 60m to the notch, with much loose rock. If you plan to climb this route, make absolutely sure no one is in the approach gully or on the first pitch above you before you enter the gully! The tales of rockfall are true.
My wife and I had thought to climb the East peak of Ingalls from the notch, but it looked unappealing, actually. Instead, we simulclimbed the East ridge of the North peak (4th, sparse pro) in around an hour to the crux section. Here there is a small notch in the ridge, and immediately after a short vertical step with several fixed pieces and some loose rock. I stopped to give a quick belay for Summer, who dispatched the crux with 2 fixed nuts and a nice red alien placement to make it fine.
We rappelled the South Face with a party from Portland in about 30 minutes, and had an enjoyable (though hot) hike back out to the car.
Its hard to recommend this route to others. Though it looks awesome from a distance, and has a few spots of fine position on the climb itself, up close and personal its just not that interesting really. Still, if you have only done/are bored with the S Ridge of Ingalls and are looking for something just a hair longer and a hair more challenging, this might be your ticket.