Climbing Ruth Mountain - Amazing views in the North Cascades!

Morning is just after sunrise and I am on my way to the North Cascades. Today I'm going to be climbing that mountain right behind me, Mount Ruth. We have had some beautiful mid-October weather and that means that the scramble boot path route up Mount Ruth is open. This is not a route that you can do every single year. It really depends on snow levels but We've got perfect conditions today. It's actually not even that cold anymore. It's warming up rapidly and it's going to be clear skies all day. This is a big day though. I'm looking at 12 and a half miles with 4,300 feet of elevation gain and that last thousand feet you can see. I'm going up Ruth Arm and that's the summit. So I've got to go up that, get around that gigantic spire of rock around the glacier, but I think this is going to be amazing. The weather could not be more perfect, but yeah I gotta get going. I am two miles in and I've got another four to go to get to the summit. So next order of business is get to Hannigan Pass. I made it to Hannigan Pass and it is as Windy as it was the last time I was here, and this is the point where I'm going to be I'm starting to be a... leaving the main trail and taking the spur up to Ruth Arm and hopefully Ruth. I'm making pretty good time so far. Oh, North Cascades wind. I'm making pretty good time so far. I'm stopping here to have a snack and put on sunscreen finally, and then this is the part of the trail where it's gonna get hard. I've got about two more miles to go and another 2,000 feet of gain to cover. Let's cover. Sahale Pass, and I'm going up there. Ruth is that way. But yeah, first I have to fuel up and This wind is going to be worse up top, so I don't know how much you'll be able to hear me, but it is actually not that cold, so it's very nice, very refreshing. Made it onto the Ruth Arm Trail, and I am in North Cascades Paradise. This is awesome. Look at the mountains. Oh, there's so many cool peaks. Oh my gosh, and it's that really special time in the mountains right before the seasons change. I don't know, it's got such a deep feeling and peaceful. There's nobody else. Beautiful. But I'm also getting a very good look at Ruth. There she is, and she is not looking less intimidating up close. About a mile left and 1,300 feet, or so of gain to go which isn't too bad um the main crux is going to be getting around that spire um and i have it on good authority that if i uh stay to the right on the right of it and hug it that that should go if not well then i'll call it at Ruth Arm, but I am pretty sure I should be able to do it, but yeah, that's a pretty intimidating looking mountain, but also beautiful, like just, oh my god, glacier carved slopes in all directions are just crazy. Sorry, I'm not sure I was doing a really good job holding the camera there, but oh well, that's going to have to be good enough, because I do have to make some miles, but Yeah, we'll see, we'll see what that looks like when I get up close with it, but for now, I'm enjoying the Ruth Arm. I am on escape. Um, so I came up the arm, and there is a pretty rocky boot path, um, up this slope, which is varying degrees of steep, but, um, it's better than the gully to get up to the arm, that's for sure. The closer I get, The better the route looks, so I really think I'm going to make it. I'm very optimistic. This is definitely going to be the most crucial part of the climb in the next half mile. Once I get around that spire, I will be golden, but I need one more big push to get around that. Summit looks a lot closer now, and also the way around the spire looks way more open, so Yeah, feeling pretty good. I'll check in once I'm on the other side of that thing. It is right behind me. Oh my god. I have earned this. Oh boy. Okay, just a little bit longer. Oh, and I just crossed into the border of North Cascades National Park, the best place in the world. All right, let's go get the summit shelter here, because the wind coming off of Mount Shuksan is crazy, but I am on the summit of Mount Ruth, and oh! Oh my God. This is actually one of my favorite mountains in Washington and I've just, I'm so happy to be up here. Okay, I have budgeted time to hang out up here. I'm gonna shoot a ton of footage because this might be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life. Oh my gosh, okay, there's just so much. There's so many mountains. Sorry, I've been rendered speechless. I'm sure you could. uh see in some of that footage uh the wind is crazy and i knew it was gonna be 25 mile per hour gusts today so the wind was expected but um yeah the views are amazing it is going to be pretty much impossible for me to give a tour with the wind like this but you can see Mount Shuksan in like the entire spine There are so many mountains in North Cascades National Park that are on display further east. This is just, this is one of the best views I have ever seen in my life, period. Like, this blew everything out of the water. It's just... Incredible. I knew the views were going to be good. I still was like, I got up here and I just couldn't speak. It was just stunning. And there's little glacial tarns. And it's just really in the middle of nowhere. It's beautiful. And I haven't talked about Mount Ruth much because... You know, it doesn't come up a lot, but this is like one of my top 10 favorite mountains in Washington. I've always wanted to climb it ever since I saw it for the first time, and I found out about this route and I was like, I'm gonna go for it, and gosh, I'm so glad I did. I almost I almost bailed and did something easier today and that would have been a terrible decision. But yeah, I'm in the wind shelter and cloud and mountain gazing for a little bit longer while I have my snack before I have to think about heading back down because this is actually pretty comfortable. I know I'm laying down on rocks, but like this is not bad. This is pretty incredible, like amazing sunbathing spot. I have reached my turnaround time. That's the summit right behind me having to say goodbye to Ruth. Um, I can give a quick little tour facing north, um, because now that I'm on this side of the mountain, the wind isn't quite so bad, um, so real quick, Goat Mountain, uh, Tomihoi, Mount Larrabee, American Border Peak, this is, uh, Hannigan Peak, I climbed that a couple years ago, I believe this is Goat Peaks, and then, oh, sorry, this is Mount Sefrit, Sefrit. Uh, and then down here, this is, um, the, uh, gosh, I'm, I'm blanking on the name of the river. Cool river. I crossed it earlier this year. I don't know why I can't remember it. Church Mountain out that way. And then we're getting into the North Cascades and I think one of the coolest parts of the view is there's this beautiful glacial tarn down there or lake. I don't know if that has a name. I'll have to see if that lake has a name. It might not. And then getting into the North Cascades, it's just mountains, mountains, mountains. The really cool one that's kind of dominating the view has been the Icy Peak. That is a jagged mountain, and then Glacier Peak in the distance, um, I'm sorry, this mountain has rendered me quite speechless. Um, I'm gonna say it now before I go back down, this is the best view I've ever had, and this might just be my favorite summit ever. It, it really might. I'm just I'm floored in every way possible. I could cry, but I do have to start descending, which is going to be the not as fun part, especially getting back down to Hannigan Pass. Once I get to Hannigan Pass, it's just a slog out, but getting down to the pass is going to be really annoying, so I want to say how much I love it before I start complaining about the descent. I, but, I mean, this is just beautiful. I desperately don't want to leave. I would like to live on the summit forever, but I do have to go back down, so it's a goodbye to Mount Ruth, and the views on the descent are going to be incredible, so there's that. I'm also going to be racing sundown time, I think, because it's going to take a while. A mile from the trailhead. That was Ruth Mountain, and I think I might have a new favorite summit. That was, I've been thinking about it and it just, that blew me away. And I just, again, I'm gonna start speaking gibberish again because I just, I don't even have words. That was beautiful. The North Cascades, once again, deliver. Who's surprised? But that 360 is like heavenly. There's just so many insane mountains and what a cool perspective on, uh, Mount Shuksan. Really, really cool to see the, like, fin. Um, but yeah, I have been, I've really loved Mount Ruth ever since I saw it, um, from the, uh, the time I went and did, uh, Hannigan Peak and, you know, Found out about this route and I figured I would give it a go and gosh I'm so glad I did. I almost went and did a much easier, more relaxed hike today and I wouldn't miss this. It is very rare to get a beautiful October day like this. Warm, but not too warm. No snow. To be able to get something like that, that's not, that doesn't happen often. So very glad I took advantage. But I'll talk about the route. We're out. Up until Hannigan Pass, the trail is really easy. It's just long. This is a long day. Twelve and a half miles is a lot. I will say the gain on this is kind of deceptive because, you know, 4,300 feet of gain in 12 miles, you know, that's a good day hike. But the way you gain it, especially the final 2,000 feet, is pretty diabolical. After Hanigan Pass, I didn't show this at all because I just wanted it to be over with, but if you look up how to get to Ruth Arm or Mount Ruth, you will see people complaining about this one specific gully you have to, like, ascend steeply, and man, it sucks a lot. That was terrible. It is vertical, loose, Nonsense. Unfortunately, it's not that long, but... That was a pain to get up and sketchy going back down, and that's honestly my least favorite part of the route. The other part of the route is once you leave the Ruth Arm Trail and get kind of onto the part where the glacier has died off and the snow fields melted away, there's a lot of loose rock, a lot of very interesting terrain that's kind of different from Other rocky trails, there's like fresh glacier flour on some of the rocks, so very, very unique. I'm starting to speak. Getting around that spire, it looks impossible right up until you're there, and then you're like, what was I worried about? Mom, Dad, I promise, I promise that is not as crazy as it looks. Is it a scramble? No. You can, you can go up it, but there's also, I thought it'd be like hugging hugging the wall or something. But I mean, I've read plenty of reports that say you could just go up and they're right. It really, you kind of look at pictures and you go, I don't believe, I don't know if I believe that. But no, it's very, very doable. Just steep and loose. But yeah, I never felt, never felt too sketched out. I'm starting to think about, um... And then another nice thing about Ruth is once you like see the summit, that is the summit. No false summit, of course. Perfect mountain. Um, so yeah, that's a long strenuous day and I will say that, you know, you do need the snow to cooperate because a lot of people do this, uh, ascending via the glacier, um, so the, the route that avoids snow travel and glacier travel is not always open, um, or it's open very late in the season. Um, comparable difficulty would be Tommy Hoy. Uh, minus the, uh, exposed scrambling that Tommy Hoy has. Um, but, uh, aside from that great route, it is stunning most of the way. Like, this is a top classic route, and I can see why. Um, you've just got big mountains in your face the entire time. Um, and, yeah, I mean, I really just need to let the footage speak for itself, because I think that's gonna do a better job than me. Going on and on and on about how beautiful that was. Also, I'm sorry if any footage is shaky because the wind gusts up there were crazy. It was pushing my hands, so we'll hope it isn't too scuffed. But yeah, I mean, it's the North Cascades, and this is also a beautiful area of the North Cascades. And while everybody else is on the opposite end of the mountains looking for larch trees, I got Rufus all to myself. Anyway, I have gone on long enough. I'm very much looking forward to the snack I have in my car. So thank you so much for watching, and here are my favorite pictures from the climb today. Enjoy.