Mineral Butte via SE ridge

Ben, Bruno, Carla, and I drove up Road 6330 (off of the North Fork Skykomish Road) past the first big switch back and parked around 1,800'. I could have driven past two more switch backs but was worried that I would run into rougher road and have to back down a long way, as it turned out that wouldn't have been a problem.

We hiked Road 6330 up the SE ridge of Mineral Butte, the logging road goes much higher than shown on Green Trails or USGS. Occasionally the clouds would lift to reveal Spire Mtn, Scott Peak, and Bear Mountain, I'll bet there are a lot of good views on a clear day! Except for the final few hundred feet, the route was very moderate and well protected from avalanches. The final few hundred feet were a sometimes steep but straight-forward scramble up to the summit of Mineral Butte.

Date:

2006/01/08

Elevation gain:

3,605 feet

Trip type:

scramble

USGS quad:

Monte Cristo

In:

North Fork Skykomish Drainage

References:

Winter Climbs: One Day Ascents (out of print)

Car-to-car:

7 hours 33 minutes

4 hours 16 minutes ascending from car to summit of Mineral Butte
2 hours 47 minutes descending from summit of Mineral Butte to car

Snowshoeing up Road 6330 on Mineral Butte

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