Steamboat Prow and Mt. Ruth
6/15/07
WA Cascades West Slopes North (Mt Baker)
3537
3
Always a favorite spring tour, a cancelled meeting on Friday allowed for a spur of the moment trip. Jim Witte and I left the White River parking lot at 8 am on another stellar day. The much-publicized trail damage was impressive, but made for a more interesting trip than the usual mining road stroll. After crossing
the rushing InterFork creek we were able to skin up from about 5,600. The climb through Glacier Basin and up Interglacier went fast, partly thanks to an excessively steep skin track put in by a turbo-charged pair of climbers ahead of us. The skin track pretty much attacked the route head-on, and in places we were forced to detour off at a more gentlemanly angle. Even so, we reached the prow in a respectable 4-1/4 hours, 5,200 from the trail head. Views, of course, were sublime and we lazed about in shirtsleeves for a while, soaking it in. Looking for a variation on the usual fall-line descent, we skied down towards Mt. Ruth where a short 100 boot brought us to the summit and more awesome views. This is an incredible vantage point, with the whole length of the Emmons glacier from summit to moraine visible. Clicking in again we had a great ski down the summit snowfield, then skiers right into colon gulley, the main avalanche path from the summit. The snow varied from good corn high up to sloppy slush, with some good hissers being triggered in the gulley. The overnight low at Camp Muir had been about 40 degrees, explaining the lack of any consistent corn. Passing two duos with heavy loads bound for Liberty Ridge we descended the pulverized trail, getting back to a roasting parking lot around 3:30.
One task remained a side trip to Crystal Mountain to look for Jims ski lost in the Thanksgiving powder 6 months previously. Of course this happened conveniently out in Northback at about 5,300. We hustled up the Ho Chi Minh trail and clambered up steep slopes covered in tree-limbing slash to the GPS waypoint and ribbon markers thoughtfully placed by Jim. A large elk and a porcupine encounter added interest to the mission. After poking around snow patches, precarious slopes and brush the offending plank was found about 50 feet fall-line below the ribbons. Success! After such a triumph, burgers at the Naches tavern in Greenwater were a fitting way to end a long and rewarding day.
the rushing InterFork creek we were able to skin up from about 5,600. The climb through Glacier Basin and up Interglacier went fast, partly thanks to an excessively steep skin track put in by a turbo-charged pair of climbers ahead of us. The skin track pretty much attacked the route head-on, and in places we were forced to detour off at a more gentlemanly angle. Even so, we reached the prow in a respectable 4-1/4 hours, 5,200 from the trail head. Views, of course, were sublime and we lazed about in shirtsleeves for a while, soaking it in. Looking for a variation on the usual fall-line descent, we skied down towards Mt. Ruth where a short 100 boot brought us to the summit and more awesome views. This is an incredible vantage point, with the whole length of the Emmons glacier from summit to moraine visible. Clicking in again we had a great ski down the summit snowfield, then skiers right into colon gulley, the main avalanche path from the summit. The snow varied from good corn high up to sloppy slush, with some good hissers being triggered in the gulley. The overnight low at Camp Muir had been about 40 degrees, explaining the lack of any consistent corn. Passing two duos with heavy loads bound for Liberty Ridge we descended the pulverized trail, getting back to a roasting parking lot around 3:30.
One task remained a side trip to Crystal Mountain to look for Jims ski lost in the Thanksgiving powder 6 months previously. Of course this happened conveniently out in Northback at about 5,300. We hustled up the Ho Chi Minh trail and clambered up steep slopes covered in tree-limbing slash to the GPS waypoint and ribbon markers thoughtfully placed by Jim. A large elk and a porcupine encounter added interest to the mission. After poking around snow patches, precarious slopes and brush the offending plank was found about 50 feet fall-line below the ribbons. Success! After such a triumph, burgers at the Naches tavern in Greenwater were a fitting way to end a long and rewarding day.
Nice pictures Andy - I see that your busy week on Rainier goes on :)
Thanks Michael - it's been a great week! I'm planning on heading south next weekend for a change of scene.
Makes me wonder if this guys got a job. ;)
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