Spectacular day today getting up to Mount Ruth and then Steamboat Prow with Glen99!! We had perfect weather with hardly any wind. The views were just awesome!!

We got started at 8:40 am from the White River campground and the Glacier Basin trailhead. The trail up to the Glacier Basin camp spots is a nice wide trail that gains around 1500ft in about 3.5 miles. Just after the camp spots there is a climbers trail that goes down to the Interfork River which needs to be crossed. We hunted for a spot to cross and found a good spot to hop the rocks and get across. We were able to get across without getting out boots wet, and we did not even need gaiters. On the way back in the afternoon the water had risen only an inch or two and covered a couple of rocks, but we were able to cross with no issues. Just use poles, and you will be fine.

After the river crossing we found the trail and  headed up the super steep trail up to the ridge. This trail is steep and there are some loose rocks. Poles were helpful on the way down, as it was dusty and easy to lose your footing if not careful.

Once on the ridge the views really opened up and we had some fantastic views of Little Tahoma and down to the Emmons Glacier. We took a right and headed up the ridge toward Mount Ruth. We ran into snow up on the ridge and decided to go straight up on the snow. We both put on gaiters here and glen put on alum crampons on his boots and I decided to give it a try with spikes on my boots. Neither of us used mountaineering boots, just some lightweight approach style boots, and we did just fine. We both carried ice axes, but did not use them. Once we got up near the summit of Mount Ruth the snow steepened, and we took off our traction devices, put on our helmets, and scrambled  straight up to the summit. There were some loose rocks, so I just took my time and got to the top. I had to stow my poles for this section, as about half of it was pretty easy class 3 scrambling where I needed to use my hands. Nothing too bad, as there was not any exposure on this section.

We took a few pics on the top of Mount Ruth and then headed to Steamboat Prow. We had to get down some boulders from the summit of Mt. Ruth to get to the ridge walk to Steamboat Prow. It went easy enough, before we got to the crux of the trip, and a down scramble about 40 ft to a lower section. There are plenty of holds and it wasn't too terribly steep. The last 8 ft down was a bit tricky as there was a step that was a bit difficult for me to find some hold for my feet. Glen99 had gone down first, and showed me where the foot hold were. It was a lot easier going back up this on the way back, that's for sure.

After this part it was pretty much a steep walk up to Steamboat Prow. There was a steep snow patch that we had to go up, but neither one of us put on any traction. The top of Steamboat prow was very cool. Just awesome views!! When we were up there a helicopter flew into Camp Shurman to deliver supplies, which was neat to see. We were hoping for a ride back to the car!! hahaha!!

We had great conditions, as there was not much snow travel on our route, plus not much in the way of bugs. We did not even use any bug spray the whole trip!!. We got back to the car at 5:50 pm. My GPS had 13 miles with 5712 ft gain

Team Ibuprofen - Kidz Wont Hike and I - scrambled up Mount Ruth and then Steamboat Prow on Mount Rainier from the White River Campground. I had always wanted to do Ruth and wasn't even aware of Steamboat until we were planning and I looked at the map. This is the highest point you can get on the Sunrise side without glacier travel, right above Camp Shurman. Steamboat Prow sits in between the Emmons and Winthrop Glaciers. The views of Rainier were stunning. We could look down and see the helipad at Camp Shurman and two rangers who received a helicopter supply while we were there. We could hear the constant rockfall from Willis Wall and Little Tahoma and the groaning and creaking of the glaciers. Conditions were perfect. Hardly any wind, sunny and clear, but not too warm. No bugs at all. The trail is well defined most of the way to each peak, only obscured in places by lingering snow and some segments through boulders. We carried just over 2 liters each and ended up needing to refill water on the way down at the Inter Fork river. There are plenty of water sources from White River up until Inter Fork river, and then no more. Kidz covered a lot of the details in his report. Here's a quick run down of the segments of the hike:

White River to Glacier Basin camp - nice wide trail, slope is pretty gentle most of the way. This 3.5 mile segment is the easy part. This is the only place where we saw other people. Inter Fork River crossing - Drop down from camp area and cross the river. The crossing is a little bit tricky. Waterproof boots and poles are helpful. Was running a bit higher on the way back. Had to rock hop with some pretty wide jumps. Mount Ruth ridge - Steep dirt trail up to gain the ridge and well-defined path to the upper slopes of Ruth. Poles were helpful on the way down as it was slippery. Mount Ruth peak - Once we hit snow, we decided to go straight up the left side of Ruth rather than track the trail through snow which goes to climbers right. First went straight up snow with traction on. Then class 3 scrambling to get to the summit. On the way down, we followed the traditional trail instead which is a gentler slope. Steamboat Prow - Trail continues to be well defined all the way up. Mostly class 2, some narrow ridge walking, one segment of snow that didn't require traction, with one tricky off-camber climbing section. This section was slippery on the way down as well. 

Gear used: Poles, Gaiters, Waterproof boots, Helmets for rockfall, Lightweight crampons, Water filter. Brought ice axes but didn't use. Brought garbage bags and it looked like glissading opportunities on the inter glacier snow fields but we decided not to attempt due to steepness and unclear whether this glacier might have hidden crevasses. 

Gaia stats: 12.3 miles, 5,377' ascent, 9:00 total time, 2:20 stopped time. 

the little mini-heatwave this weekend caused the snow to be soft and generally mush by afternoon.  

Left the White River campground at 6:15 with a group of Mountaineers and summited roughly around 11am.  Snow on trail roughly starting at 5300' and we crossed the Interfork up high past the campsite before turning left and gaining the east ridge.  

Many climbers and skiers on Steamboat but we didn't go down the glacier basin even though it looked quite good (no exposed crevasses from our view).  The glissades were well worth the work going up with about 2300' of mellow slushy glissade descent - definitely the highlight of the trip.

Didn't need spikes or crampons. Definitely ice axe to help with steep parts and the glissade rudder.

If you're curious about the glissades, check out the youtube video linked here

Great day yesterday with the clear skies in the AM. We arrived at 7:45am and Parking lot was less than halfway full, but it was a weekday (Tuesday). Begun the hike at 8:25am. The trail before the river crossing was mostly snow covered but spikes were not needed. We arrived at the Inter Fork of the White River around 10:30am. We put on snowshoes here for added safety and carefully one person at a time crossed over the Inter Fork snow bridge, however caution - the bridge is getting loose and may not hold up well in the next few weeks. We kept our snowshoes on after the river crossing. It wasn’t long after that point that the snow began to loosen up. After reaching the first ridge we were sinking a bit even with snowshoes on, so I’d say snowshoes were essential to successfully summit, unless you enjoy constant post holing. Got to the top at 2:00pm and we enjoyed a glissaded descent from the summit down to Glacier Basin camp, must of been at least 2600 feet of glissade! Would recommend. :)