The promise of a bluebird weekend and improved ski conditions was a disabling distraction all week. All too often, Tuesday’s forecast invariably is somehow sabotaged by Thursday afternoon and we spend a rainy Saturday climbing the walls at home. With this in mind, I was able to cajole Alex K. into idea of the backcountry ski with an eye toward Mount Shuksan (didn’t actually take much of an arm twisting!). However, personal schedules, avalanche danger, and commitment levels led us to abandon our plan and join up with Don Howard and his B’hamster bro James to Ruth Mountain.
A five a.m. departure from Mount Vernon had the Big Blue shuttle and it’s occupants northbound to pick up James in B’ham then up the Baker highway to the trailhead. With 4WD, we were able drive to the trailhead through increasing amounts of snow for the last ½ mile. While pleasantly surprised to be skinning right from the rig, we quickly learned that the rolling topography coupled with many melted out creek crossings made for exhausting travel.

While a northwesterly approach to Ruth was contemplated along the way, further travel soon revealed that the Hannegan Pass route resulted in considerably less elevation loss along the way. We were pretty worked when we reached the pass, so refreshed with a quick bite while enjoying views of the Chilliwack River peaks including Bear, Redoubt and Challenger. The final portion of our ascent involved wrapping around the east side of the unnamed peak just north of Ruth and ascending the final 1,500 feet to the summit.
During the final climb, my excitement level grew as the snow was relatively well preserved powder on the leeward slopes and felt quite stable. The last thousand feet went pretty quickly on perfect skinning slopes and we celebrated our warm and sunny summit overlooking Nooksack Cirque and the Picket Range while polishing off the rest of our food and water. After a group snap, we shedded the skins and ripped 1,500 feet of quality turns right off the summit, retracing our skin track to the north. At this point, we made descending traverse into Ruth Creek attempting to preserve as much elevation as possible. We had to negotiate a few wet sloughs along the way, but otherwise this worked as well as it could.
The last four miles out were long and unforgiving on tired legs and sore feet (OK, it was a sufferfest!). However, we made it out uneventfully and were thankful to be taking off the packs and taking in the beer. We all agreed that the amount of skiing was not enough to justify the level of effort. However, looking at the pictures and re-living the incredible views on such a gorgeous day with well matched partners, I believe I’d probably still do it again next year.