Left Gully

The top pitch	Left gully, early season	Top pitch	Top pitch
Views from the top	The pitches

The Left Gully is by far the most popular route on the South Face of Crandell. The views from the top are great, the descent is an easy walk off to climbers left, and the ice rambles for several hundred meters before finally getting to a good final pitch of solid W3. This is a good route for beginners to practice the ins and outs of multi-pitch climbs. It is possible to walk off on any pitch. Belays can often be found in the trees to the side of the gully. While avalanche danger on this route usually isn't a large problem, heavy snow accumulation can make the anchors above the route useless, making this a dangerous gully to get trapped in. Pitch 1 is an easy warmup that often gets melted out. Pitch 2 is a short steep headwall. Pitch 3 is a low angled ramp that will have you practicing your French technique. Pitch 4 usually gets beginners to bring out the rope due to the exposure below, most everyone else will solo Pitch 3 and 4. Pitch 5 is a great ampitheatre of ice that has several lines of similar difficulty. Most people tend to take a green strip of mushy ice on the left. Walk off to the climbers left from the top pitch. Work through some small ledges by generally keeping a bit to the right (south).