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Participants: Darlene Anderson, Julian Douglas,
Jenny Faulkner, Ziff House, Marco Iucolino, Greg Iuzzolino,
Marian Jans, Andre Jarzabek, John Sapac, Julia Borchardt
(Reporter), and Norbert Eckert (Trip Organizer).
After a tense week of compulsive weather report checking,
we arrived at the Glacier ranger station under sunny
blue skies. This was a great relief given that rain
had been forecast all week. After picking up our backcountry
camping permit and parking passes, we convened again
at the Hannegan Pass trailhead (3100ft) and were on
the trail by 11:40.
You have to hand it to Washington state trails. We
hiked in comfort along an extremely well maintained
trail (with one notable exception) almost all the way
to the Ruth glacier. An alder & brush free zone
ran for 5 feet on either side of the trail and we had
superb views of Nooksack Ridge, Ruth Mountain, waterfalls
& wildflowers almost every step of the way. The
trail follows the Ruth Creek valley all the way to Hannegan
Pass, gaining elevation gradually, mostly after the
first 2 miles with only 2 or 3 switchbacks. There is
no shortage of campsites near the Pass, some with spectacular
360 degree views.
At Hannegan Pass, just past the side trail to Hannegan
Peak, we turned towards Ruth and negotiated the only
truly awful section of trail which went straight up
a narrow, dust filled gully before breaking into the
alpine at about 5500ft. We were rewarded for our efforts
by the resumption of the trail which skirted a minor
peak & took us along a spectacular heather filled
ridge before gently depositing us at the base of the
Ruth glacier.
We continued along the talus for a while before roping
up for the final glaciated stretch leading to the summit.
The snow was soft so we did not put crampons on, only
roped up in three teams. After ascending the glacier
and a very brief rocky scramble, at 5:00 p.m. we stood
atop Ruth Mountain (7,106ft). Although not particularly
high or technically challenging, Ruth is a satisfying
objective for the spectacular views it offers of the
hanging glaciers on Mount Shuksan and Jagged Ridge,
as well as of the Border Peaks, Larrabee, Tomyhoi, Slesse,
Challenger and many other peaks.
From Ruth, we also had our first look at the weekend's
main objective, Icy Peak to the south. It was interesting
to see that Icy's Spillway Glacier, which normally cascades
1km down from the summit as a jumble of seracs, had
completely sloughed off (it does this periodically),
leaving only steep rock slabs in it's trench.
It was getting cold so we didn't linger long on the
summit before heading down. We found a beautiful camping
spot on a 6500' knoll only half an hour below the summit
with just enough room for our 8 tents and enough snow
and trickles of water to make up a good water supply.
After setting up, we ate dinner to the sounds of avalanches
tumbling into the Nooksack Cirque and a beautiful sunset,
before turning in around 9:30.
The night was windy & cold but dry and we awoke
at 6:00 to clear skies & the promise of a perfect
day. By 7:30 we were on our way, with some dissention
as to the best way to get from point a to point b. Half
of us headed down what was later referred to as "hell
gully" while the other half held out hope for a
better way and were rewarded for their faith when they
found some cairns on the other side of the gully, leading
around and down to the Ruth-Icy col.
We all met up again near the col and made for what
looked like the best place to rope up and access Icy's
west-side glacier. Wearing crampons for the hard morning
snow, we wound our way between crevasses to a point
southwest of Icy's northwest rock horn, the highest
peak. A Class 3 scramble up the southwest gully led
to the summit. The route was not very difficult but
was exposed with some slabby & loose bits. We ended
up putting a rope up but most of us made it up solo.
We were all atop Icy Peak (7060ft) by about noon. The
view was spectacular. To the west was Shucksan &
Jagged Ridge looking close enough to touch. Seahpo Peak
was immediately to the south with Mt. Blum in the distance
to the southeast. Mt. Challenger with its enormous glacier
was to the east, Mineral Mtn to the northeast, Ruth
Mtn, Nooksack Ridge & Copper Mtn to the north and
Goat, Larrabee, Tomyhoi & Slesse to the northwest.
We signed the register and after savoring the scenery
& our accomplishment, headed back down.
Some of us choose to be belayed down, the rest soloed
down and we all met back at the glacier. We went further
down the glacier on the way back as it was easier then
scrambling on the rocks. Decided to give 'hell gully'
a pass and take the ridge way back up to camp.
We returned to camp before 3:00 and after a brief rest
we packed up and struck out for home. We bypassed the
peak of Ruth by crossing a shoulder to the West. Some
of us chose to rope up for the Ruth Glacier again, others
opted for just crampons. By 5:00 we made it back to
the beautiful heather filled ridge on the north side
of Ruth where we stopped for a short rest and a group
picture. The rest of the way down was uneventful and
a tired, but happy group was back at the cars at 7:30.
CLICK
HERE FOR A MAP
Directions:
Take I-5 to Bellingham then head east on WA 542/Mount
Baker Highway for close to an hour. Once past the town
of Glacier, by about 13 miles, take a left onto the
Nooksack River Road 32. This is a dirt road just before
the Nooksack River Bridge. If you find yourself driving
with the Nooksack River on your left, or you arrive
at the Mt. Baker ski area, you’ve gone too far.
Drive up the Nooksack River Road and at about a mile
and a half take the uphill branch (FR 402) to the left.
Proceed for about four miles to the end where there
is a large parking lot with restrooms and a campground.
Here you will find the Hennegan Pass trailhead. (I borrowed
these directions from this
web site where there are some great pictures of
a similar trip)
Trip Report | Photo
Gallery
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