Ruby Mountain is a North Cascades classic. Once considered a candidate for a tramway to be built to its summit, you know it must be a good viewpoint. I had climbed it via the winter route once before but was happy to go back with Katie and Eric.
The North Cascades Highway was still closed, so our journey began at the Ross Dam Trailhead. Despite a beautiful, sunny weather forecast, it was quite cold starting out and we bundled up in puffy coats and gloves. We seemed to have collectively forgotten that it does still get cold in the mountains at 7:45 am in mid-April. The mile-long road walk was pleasant, and we were passed by a few bikers who were undoubtedly going to have a great day cruising the unopened road.
Before long we found the turnoff up Happy Creek. I remember last time I was here I was surprised by how clear and well-built this trail is. This was still the case for us, and we quickly reached the end of the official trail at a nice cascading waterfall. I took a photo to see if I could compare the flow rate in the morning versus the afternoon.
From here, the bootpath changes character and gets steeper and fainter, but it is still relatively easy to follow. We steadily gained elevation until we came to an obstacle, a partially snow-covered boulder field. Without snow, this section would be tedious and annoying, but with sparse snow-cover it became downright hazardous. The danger of punching through and twisting an ankle (or worse) was real, so we proceeded with caution. Thankfully, it was still early enough in the morning where the snow was still partially frozen, so we were able to make it through with no mishaps. We were a bit worried about our return journey in the heat of the day, though.
Because of this year's high snow levels, we ended up hitting consistent snow at around 3700’. This played a role in us deciding to leave the skis at home, and I’d say we were happy we did. Snow cover wasn’t consistently deep until 4000’, so we hugged to the right of the creek here to avoid any melting snow bridges.
At this point, we were powering up a forested ridgeline snowshoe-free for another thousand feet or so before the deep, spring snow became too soft. Snowshoes were the perfect tool for this day, and we quickly began to break out of the trees. Views back the way we came towards Ross Lake, Jack, Prophet, and Hozomeen were special, and a big part of what makes this such a classic climb.
Once we were out of the trees, the summit ridge was clearly visible, and all that was left to do was put one foot in front of the other. The route steepens a bit near the top of the ridge, but overall is quite straightforward. Our ice axes never came out, and we were on the final slope up to the summit before we knew it. Views into the heart of the North Cascades were epic. This is a true 360-degree view summit in the center of it all.
We spent a good amount of time enjoying it, and watched a few skiers descend off the ridge. The way down was initially quite fun, with perfect snow conditions to part “ski”, part plunge step with our snowshoes. As we started to get closer to tree line, things started to get a bit hairier. The snow surface was quite variable, and it was hard to predict how it would respond to your footfall. The boulder-field was a major headache this time around. The snow had predictably softened up significantly, making the danger of punching through very real. We were extremely careful while navigating between rock islands. This was definitely the crux of the day and the most mentally draining part of the trip. Once we had finally reached terra firma it felt amazing to be able to trust the ground beneath our feet (even if it was a steep climber’s path).
Before long, we found ourselves back at the waterfall. I took another photo, and it was pretty much impossible to tell the difference between the flow rate in the morning and the afternoon. So much for my science experiment. We then cruised down the trail and the mile of open road before returning to Ross Dam, where we encountered a bit of a party atmosphere. Hikers and bikers were finsihing up their day’s adventures beyond the locked gate and were reveling in the nice weather and their accomplishments. It was a fun end to a great day and beautiful reintroduction to the alpine.
Final Stats: 11.26 miles / 5317 feet of gain
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