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| Miriam and Grace atop Ruth Mountain |
9/16/2014
After Jim and Melissa's wedding Grace, Miriam, and I headed north. We had to pay our respects to the north cascades. Ruth seemed like the perfect "baby climb": scenic, fun, safe.
We spent the night at Hannegan pass trailhead in a temple of trees, bedded on fir needles, lulled by rushing water. In the morning we ate oatmeal and watched, bemused, as US Boarder Patrol made a drive by.
It was mid morning when we started up the trail and, we were slowed by the blueberries that lined it. Nevertheless, we made it to Hannegan pass around noon and stopped for lunch.
From the pass, a tangle of social trails led south to the steep slopes of point 5930. We opted for a route that was equal parts wash and trail, and at 45 degrees with loose dirt and rocks for several hundred feet, this was definitely the crux. With a bit of rain you'd need crampons and tools to ascend. But there were enough solid roots to grab and miscellaneous green belays that it wasn't too bad. We reached a distinct gravely bench at 5600 feet, where a good trail leads around the north side of pt. 5930, and so to Ruth's gentle glacier.
Grace spotted a route to climbers left of the prominent rock spur that allowed us to avoid most of the cracks, and we cramponed up the firm september neve, taking real pleasure in the movement, planting axe and crampon in rhythm.
We made camp ten or twenty feet below the summit, melted snow, soaked up the scenery. Thick haze obscured the furthest peaks, and by day it detracted somewhat from the grandeur of the place. Sunrise the next day made up for that.
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| Looking southeast from Ruth: Despair, Triumph, Eldorado, and many others. |
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