I believe this was my first climb of Ruth Mountain, the first of 16 climbs that I would do on this peak. It was August 1972. Kem and I decided to spend the day hiking to Ruth Mountain and climbing the snowy slopes to the top. We went light. It is 13 miles roundtrip with an elevation gain of 4700'.
The scenery on the trail is outstanding. The views from the top are stunning in all directions.
The scenery on the trail is outstanding. The views from the top are stunning in all directions.
Kem led the way to Hannegan Pass.
I think we used hiking back then as a stress reliever. That and drinking beer.
Not that we put a lot of time into our studies.
The view back down the trail and Ruth Creek.
As we hiked to Hannegan Pass we could see campers below us.
Notice the lack of gear.
We just followed the well trodden path to the top.
Who is that standing at the top?
Mt. Shuksan and Mt. Baker in the background.
That is Icy Peak with a huge snowfield on the right. On another trip with three friends, I climbed down the backside of Ruth and crossed an arm and climbed up Icy Peak. We then climbed down the snow slope to numerous granite benches and cliffs with hundreds of small streams and waterfalls cascading down to the Nooksack Cirque where the water joined the North Fork of the Nooksack. We cautiously made our way into the Nooksack Cirque and out via the bushwhacking trail alongside the Nooksack River to a second car parked at that trailhead.
Icy Peak has a bench on the east side large enough for two tents. What a place to camp.
Looking east toward the North Cascades.
That is Mt. Shuksan behind me.
Kem listening to the Nooksack Cirque. It was loud that summer day.
Icy Peak stands tall in the midground.
I wonder what humorous additional Kem made to the register?
Those snow cups had to be hard on the butt.
This was my first time climbing Ruth Mountain. I would eventually climb it 16 times. The last time was with my wife and two dogs.
No comments:
Post a Comment