Trip Report
Alpine Scramble - Mount Ruth (Mount Rainier)
A straightforward trip up Mount Ruth in good weather, with a bit of caution around snow bridges on the trail and wet loose avalanches.
Maxwell Parsons
- Sun, May 25, 2025
- Alpine Scramble - Mount Ruth (Mount Rainier)
- Mount Ruth (Mount Rainier)
- Scrambling
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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A couple of the wooden bridges on the way up had some sketchy thin snowbridges around them, but these were easily navigated. These bridges will soon be thawed.
The creek crossing near Glacier Basin Camp was easy with good snow coverage.
With warming temperatures and plenty of sunshine, wet loose avalanches were a hazard when we got into the alpine. We curved wide to the northeast on our ascent to the finale ridgeline to avoid the steeper gulleys.
On the way back down this ridgeline from Ruth, we saw a very large wet loose avalanche come crashing down some cliffs on the other side of the Emmons glacier.
Profiting from the road to White River Campground opening and from fantastic weather, 8 of us ascended Mount Ruth. We left the cars at White River Campground at 7:45 am. The glacier basin trail has intermittent snow all the way to the campground. We arrived at the summit at around 1:30 and had lunch there while admiring panoramic views.
Our assistant leader even brought a couple of his famous friends.
One member of the party found snowshoes helpful on our mushy descent, but many others preferred to glissade where possible (and otherwise to wade). 
With wide open, highly visible terrain and a long rather mellow alpine descent, glissading is a nice option. We were back at the cars at 5:30 pm, making for a 10 hour, five-star trip.