Trip Report
Basic Glacier Climb - Ruth Mountain
Great one-day glacier climb and perfect conditions (except for bugs in the morning and the heat)
Ambrose Zhi
- Sat, Jul 13, 2024
- Basic Glacier Climb - Ruth Mountain
- Ruth Mountain & Icy Peak Traverse
- Climbing
- Successful
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- Road rough but passable
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Road to Hannegan Pass TH was rough but passable by all cars. Our group camped overnight at the trailhead. There were campsites at the TH (after the washed-out road section), and the bathroom was well stocked with TP.
Trail to Hannegan Pass was snow-free. The infamous gully (i.e. crux of the climb) was basically snow free except for one remaining snow bridge at the top, and there was water/mud on the climber's trail. Once we made it up the gully and gained the ridgeline, the snow coverage became consistent.
There were water sources along the Hannegan Pass Trail, and there was a stream from snow melt at the top of that infamous gully. For rest of the route, melting snow was the only way to get water.
Current climbing route conditions & snow coverage
C2C 10 hrs 39 mins (with plenty of breaks). You can see my track on Strava
All of us drove to the trailhead and camped the night before. Most of us slept in the cars, while others tented. We all met at the TH around 4:30AM and started hiking at 4:50ish. The hike to Hannegan Pass was pleasant with good views, and Ruth can be seen from this trail.
We made it to Hannegan Pass right around 7AM and took a longer break there. By 8:10AM, we were already up the gully and at the ridgeline. We roped up around 9:30AM and summitted Ruth an hour later.
We went with a 30-min break at the top while taking in the views of Shuksan, Baker, and other prominent peaks within the North Cascades Range.
We began the descent around 11:30AM. The hike out was uneventful, and we got back to the TH a little before 3:30PM. Overall a great day of climbing with a strong crew! 5 Seattle Intensive Basic Students (including 2 "super seniors" - i.e. 2nd year students) earned their glacier credit today
Photo Credit: Nathan Rutz, Stephanie Potts