Rope up and traverse glacier S to first notch right (NW) of Ruth summit. Camp on other side of notch on snow if possible, to minimize impact (6,600'): A shovel may be of some use. Traverse W-facing snow slope to S facing ridge leading down to the Ruth-Icy saddle. Rather than going down the normal steep gulley of loose scree and rock leading directly to the saddle area, stay left of the gully and descend a leftwards slanting slope to saddle area (5,800'). Climb gradual glacier on Icy's NW slope in general SE direction, keeping rock ridge on left and crevasses on right. At about 6,500', head S and traverse top part of glacier at the W face of Icy. Traverse S, staying under Icy's summit. Turn left (E) and go thru notch, SW of summit. On E side of notch, turn left and climb scree or snow to first major gully which leads to the summit. Top 60' of gully is class 4. Alternate Climbing Route: There are three gullies on the SW face of the NW Peak of Icy. Of these three, the most SE gully (a steep, narrow slot of brass-colored rock) provides the easiest climbing to a 200' traverse, on the peak's NE side, leading to the summit (7,070').The last 20'is a steep scramble. Watch for loose rock and wear helmets! Many way trails run from Ruth Glacier along ridge. If visibility is poor, pay attention to trail selection at this point, especially on descent. The grayish gully on left seems to be the best for final summit approach. Students can go up with a handline protecting themselves with a prussik. Helmets required on the climbing route! May want to limit party size to 6 or 9, due to some single file travel at summit and in a gully or two, and some rockfall hazard.

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