alpinechick Posted May 29, 2003 Share Posted May 29, 2003 Can anyone give me some route beta on this route? Anything that you have will help and be appreciated. Will be attempting towards the end of June. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plexus Posted May 29, 2003 Share Posted May 29, 2003 Up to Ruth is a piece of cake, you should be able to drive all the way up to the trailhead by that point. IMHO, I think that will be a good time to attempt that with some snow coverage, it should make it easier with the rock and crevasses. I started the traverse a couple of years ago and turned back due to not giving myself enough time. It's fairly straight forward from your vantage on Ruth. I read that you skirt around the summit on Ruth, but I went straight from the summit down to the ridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned_Flanders Posted May 29, 2003 Share Posted May 29, 2003 I also tried that last year and didnt go for it due to time issues. But I am planning on going back asap, this time with my skis. I think traversing below the sumit at that notch is the fastest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason_Martin Posted June 1, 2003 Share Posted June 1, 2003 Just did it the other day. The keys to this particular traverse appear to revolve around route finding after completing Ruth. So here is a quick idea of where to go. Climb Ruth then drop down to the obvious notch. After going through the notch aim for a gully to the right of a rocky satellite peak of Ruth. Drop down an steep gully and then traverse to the Ruth-Icy saddle. From the saddle aim for the right side of the right summit of Icy Peak. Go around to the back side (southwest side) of Icy and climb the first third class snow/rock gully on the left. This will bring you to the summit. I was up there on Thursday and based on the summit register it appears that we were the first party to summit since last fall... Good luck. Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted June 1, 2003 Share Posted June 1, 2003 ... when the summit register is covered with snow in winter, parties will find it hard to sign in..... I don't say you were NOT the first since last fall, only that the summit register is not a reliable way to determine this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tread_tramp Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 If you look left at the top of the gully you should spot a cairn at the top of a good scramble route down toward the Ruth-Icy saddle; much safer than the gully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason_Martin Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 tread_tramp said: If you look left at the top of the gully you should spot a cairn at the top of a good scramble route down toward the Ruth-Icy saddle; much safer than the gully. Left? That doesn't make sense to me. Are you sure you don't mean right? There was a minor peak to the left and left of that there was a cornice which appeared to drop off steeply on the other side. However, It did look like it was feasable to go down to the right of the steep gully on the other side of some rocks. I suspect it's far less steep to get down there, but you would probably have a little more altitude to gain to attain the Ruth-Icy saddle once down. I did notice a carin on the way down to the notch on the west side of Ruth -- the notch that you use to attain the gully... Is this what you're talking about? Anyway, I'd be curious to know about an alternate route down as I will probably be going back there in the future. Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tread_tramp Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 (edited) Jason, From our camp near a notch west of Ruth we headed toward a broad flat snow covered area west of mentioned satellite peak. We crossed the broad flat area and came to the top of the gulley. It was here that we looked to the left, toward the south flank of the satellite peak, and spotted the cairn that indicated the way to scramble down to the Ruth-Icy saddle. I might add that after we got around to the south side of Icy Peak we found that the first gully on the left went well, an exposed scramble, which we rapped down with a double rope. Edited June 3, 2003 by tread_tramp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 The gully down to the Ruth-Icy saddle is full of loose rock later in the season. We did it that way in late September and it goes well enough, but you should probably wear a helmet and climb with friends who don't kick down rocks. I've heard the same story about descending the slope to the left of the gully. Good luck and have fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpinechick Posted June 17, 2003 Author Share Posted June 17, 2003 Thanks for all the input. I'll be heading up there this weekend and we'll see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowell_Skoog Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 The gully southwest of the summit of Ruth was nicely snow filled last Sunday, 6/15. We skied both down and up it. It should be plunge steppable and step kickable for a few weeks yet, as long as you don't hit it too early in the morning. Bring crampons just in case. The ledgy terrain just east of the gully is the way to go later in the season, after the gully melts out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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