Feb 21, 2009, Ruby Mtn

Holy C$%p!  That looks like an incredible tour.  Thanks for the tip!

wow!  nice tour and pics...me thinks theres gonna be more folks checking out Ruby this season, that looks too good to pass up!

Nice!

I was wondering when someone would get up there - Here are a few of my photos from the west ridge a month earlier (the road was not open to the overlook quite then and the ski conditions were not good on that aspect).
http://picasaweb.google.com/kevinsteffa/09_01_Ruby#

Bonus to be in larch-country accessible from the west side.

Now, this brings me to one of my ideas brewing: This location (several possibilities on the north half of Ruby between 5K' and 6K')is in my opinion the best location in washington state for a new backcountry ski hut. Something similar in scope to the Wendy Thompson (mariott basin) in BC. Since most of the good ski terrain in washington where a hut would make sense is either wilderness, or inaccessible from a winter plowed road, Ruby has the best balance of terrain suitable for a backcountry hut in a management area (ross lake NRA), where it is theoretically possible to establish a new hut.

See thread:
http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=11241.0

Any thoughts?

i keep seeing pics from this mountain, kevin. And I whole heartily think this is the BEST option that you presented in the other thread. i'm still interested in getting something going on this if you are. the terrain from that second picture looks simply amazing, and the larch doesn't look bad either... i might have to head up there soon to check it out firsthand for myself.

Great pics on Picasa Kevin, you should post some as thumbnails - I esp. love this one:

author=Kevin Steffa link=topic=12429.msg51921#msg51921 date=1235422896]
Any thoughts?

Have you actually contacted any of the management for that area?  Honestly it seems like a pipe dream.  Liability, enviromental impact, increased usage, other user groups demanding similar improvements, blah, blah, blah.  It's hard to imagine any land management agency have the faintest desire to get involved in such a project.

I have made some initial inquiries, yes... there is some strategy behind the dreams. However I will not really make any serious efforts unless things come back positive at multiple levels. One of the first levels of course is just to imagine the possibility... would something like this even be supported by folks here in the backcountry ski community? If strong support here, then move to the next level.

It certainly is a daunting proposal, given the culture here in the US as opposed to Canada. However, a worthy proposal with enough backing from the core contingency might get some traction, especially if it does not come into conflict with other users/interests.

Ruby was great! Made it down just before the weather turned. Perfect day.

author=dberdinka link=topic=12429.msg51933#msg51933 date=1235430070]
Honestly it seems like a pipe dream.

It probably is, but there's little to loose. Land management agencies rarely do anything without money and a mandate, but both the money and the mandates usually come from well organized interest groups who've spent time and treasure figuring out what might work and how to get support. Often times they've failed miserably more than once along the way. But you gotta start somewhere.

I'd certainly use a hut on the shoulder of Ruby. Its a fantastic idea. But maybe the issue is a little bigger. Its hard not to think about all washed out FS roads, unplowed snow parks, parking issues at the pass, and the road closures in MRNP and not come up with 'why not' on this. Not much to loose and we might learn something useful.