Based on my last post, it's pretty clear that 2021 hasn't been a spectacular year for me in the mountains. With the California wildfires preventing me from even attempting to summit Mt. Whitney, I needed some redemption.
Days after I posted about Mt. Whitney, my friend Paul must have heard my disappointment and invited me to climb Mt. Baker, a heavily glaciated and crevassed mountain in the North Cascades of Washington State, which has been on our list for a few years now.
Three weeks later, I was on a plane, and Paul, Kyle and I were driving north through Washington in anticipation of our climb.
The weather looked good, but as you’ve probably learned from prior posts, in mountaineering, things don’t always go as planned, especially with the weather.
This trip was no different. The day I arrived, Paul spoke to the climbing ranger at Mt. Baker, who said the crevasses were so melted out from the 100+ degree heat the week before that they went across the entire route we were prepared to climb, making it impassable. The only way around was to climb some technical cliffs with 50+ pound packs or go down into, across and then up the crevasse, which is super dangerous and never recommended. In the marked history of Mt. Baker, the ranger said the glaciers have never been so melted out.
So onto Plan B: Glacier Mountain, which is about the same height as Mt. Baker but not as glaciated, despite its name. We got all the way to the dirt road that leads to the route when we were met by a fire ranger who was blocking the way.
Yup! Access to the mountain was closed due to a forest fire that was recently ignited by lightning. Immediately I thought…WTF!!! Seriously!!! Is this really happening again?!?! No Baker, no Glacier...am I going to have to fly home again and be 0-2 this year in climbs?!
Thanks to Kyle and his deep knowledge of the Cascades, he pulled out a Plan C: Ruth Mountain. Despite the fact that it was now raining and Ruth Mountain was in a remote spot in the North Cascades, we decided to give it a go, as the weather for the next two days looked to be pretty good for a summit attempt, and it was better than driving six hours back to Portland.
After being greeted by a black bear as we started our trek, we made our way up into the rain clouds to our home for the next three days.
Waking up the next morning and seeing the moon illuminate the clear sky, I knew it was going to be a great summit day. As we worked our way across the ridge to Ruth’s glaciated summit, views of Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan welcomed us to the high alpine, which resembled being in the Austrian Alps.
In no time, we were roped up and navigating the gnarly crevasses. Fortunately, Alpine Ascents (who was on their Plan C as well) was guiding a group ahead of us and laid some tracks to follow, which was comforting as there were some pretty tight spots between the crevasses that were sketchy to navigate.
An hour later we were high-fiving on the summit of Ruth Mountain (7,115 feet), peering clear into Canada with some of the most spectacular views I’ve seen from a summit. This is what I’ve been waiting for! The summit views reminded me of why I love mountaineering, immediately making the dangerous glaciers, pain and suffering to get there worth it all.
It feels great to finally have a successful summit on the books for 2021 thanks to Paul, Kyle and Plan C…Ruth Mountain. We also had the best camping spot on the entire mountain, with views just as beautiful as the summit. Check out the gallery to see all of the views and crazy crevasses that we navigated.
Once back in Portland, Paul and I shook out the legs on the west side of Mt. Hood. Totally different from the snowy south side we summited a few years ago, we knocked out a great hike with views of the glaciers as well as Mt. Adams, St. Helens and Rainier all towering above the clouds to the north in Washington.
It was a pretty action-packed four days of climbing and hiking, which was all set up in a matter of weeks. Despite not being able to climb Mt. Baker, this was still my redemption climb for 2021--I had a great climb and a successful summit, and I was finally able to disconnect and decompress thanks to a great time with great friends.
As I think back to the climb, while I was staring at Mt. Baker from the ridgeline of Ruth Mountain, I had a moment where I realized that Mt. Whitney and Mt. Baker aren’t going anywhere, and I will have plenty of opportunities in the future to climb them. I also realized after climbing Ruth Mountain that there are a ton of other mountains to climb that may not be as popular due to being too remote or simply unknown, but still really fun and challenging climbs. Knowing that fewer people have climbed these mountains makes it even more special to stand on the summit, knowing I’m only a hundredth of a percent to ever see the world from where I stood. It’s exciting to think that the list of climbs, challenges and views is now neverending.
Amazingly, things have a way of working themselves out. Thanks to Paul, 2021 did just that. I feel lucky to get this summit in and close out the season. Next year, I plan to move things up on the calendar, as multiple seasons have now ended early due to higher than average temperatures melting out routes and wildfires igniting months earlier than normal. Hopefully, Paul and I can keep up the tradition of getting an annual climb in, as this was our fourth summer in a row.
For now, it’s back to the local parks this fall to maintain my fitness and sanity. Until then…
Climb On!
Ben