West Ridge Ash Creek Butte

Approach

I followed the directions in the "Getting There " Section and approached from Hwy 97. 2WD should be OK in the summer.

Route Description

This route up Ash Creek Butte is straightforward. From the directions given on the main page I arrived at the parking area. Elevation of the parking area is about 6,750 feet. To climb to the summit you need to head directly east up the logged over area. This is a steep climb with about a 40 degree slope. The footing is good, but it may be different if it was muddy or snow covered. Mark your parking spot on your GPS before you leave. You may need this information to find your car again.

Climb up to the ridge line about 800 feet above the parking area. About half way up the logged area ends and the forest is still easy to walk through. Eventually you reach the ridge line, but it is still hard to see much because of the trees. Mark your spot on the ridge line with your GPS, or a cairn, or leave some one in you party, do something to make sure you can find this place for your return trip so that you will be able to find your car. Turn to your right and follow the ridge to the southeast. As you head up you get glimpses of the bowl and the summit ridge. At this point you are glad you don’t have to climb the north ridge.

Continue following this ridge line around the bowl and up to the summit. There is nothing difficult here, a little rock hopping but no real challenge. With snow still on the mountain, conditions may be different. There is a register on the summit for you to sign. Total Elevation Gain is about 1,600 feet, round trip is 2.75 miles, and it takes about 1.5 hours.

Essential Gear

No special gear required. A GPS to mark your route may come in handy.

Miscellaneous Info

If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.

Images

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