After more than a year of work, North Bend photographer Scott Rinckenberger and climbing partner Jack Taylor have completed Handsome Mongrel, a new five-pitch, 5.11 route in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness near Snoqualmie Pass. The route is located on a rock formation the pair dubbed The Canine and was completed with a first ground-up free ascent on March 23.
Rinckenberger and Taylor first began exploring the formation in late summer 2024 after climbing The Edge of Time Arete on nearby The Fang. They returned with climbing gear, hand tools, a drill and bolts to investigate whether a new route could be established on the neighboring tower.
Their original plan was to follow an existing crack system and create a route that could largely be protected with traditional climbing gear. That approach eventually stalled when they encountered a large, unstable block that they were unable to safely remove.
Rinckenberger later explored a section of the rock face to the right of the crack system and found another possible line. That route, however, would require fixed bolts for protection.
Because the formation is within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, power tools are prohibited. Rinckenberger and Taylor instead drilled each bolt hole by hand.
Over more than 25 days spent developing the route, they installed 37 protection and anchor bolts, with the drilling alone taking more than 40 hours. According to Rinckenberger, individual holes typically took about an hour to drill, although some took considerably longer.
The work also included cleaning dirt, vegetation and loose rock from cracks and ledges and establishing anchors along the route. Each trip required roughly three hours of round-trip hiking before work on the climb could begin.
By October 2024, much of the development work was complete. Rinckenberger and Taylor removed their fixed lines as winter conditions arrived, expecting to return the following year.
A low-snow winter changed the timetable.
While ski touring in March, Rinckenberger noticed that most of the route was already free of snow. He and Taylor returned on skis the following day and completed the first ground-up free ascent on March 23, 2026.
They spent additional time this spring cleaning the route, climbing it again and installing the remaining stainless-steel hardware at the rappel anchors before making the route information public.
Handsome Mongrel combines sections protected with traditional climbing gear and sections protected by bolts. Rinckenberger said the name is a reference to the hand-drilled protection, the route’s mixed climbing style and its location on The Canine.
The finished route is five pitches and rated 5.11. Rinckenberger and Taylor were assisted during the development process by Brad Kohlrus, Mike Davies, Ian Nicholson and Matt Henry.
Rinckenberger is a North Bend-based photographer and owner of the Scott Rinckenberger Gallery in downtown North Bend. His photography focuses largely on mountain landscapes and outdoor environments in the Snoqualmie Valley and beyond.
Detailed climbing information for Handsome Mongrel, including route descriptions and protection recommendations, is available on Mountain Project.
