Ruby Basin/Weminuche Questions

[lordhelmut]

Wondering if anyone, with an extensive knowledge of the region around Ruby Basin, could help me out a little here. Myself, and a few others, are trying to plan a 4-5 day trip up Ruby in August. We're looking to climb the following peaks : Pigeon, Turret, 15, 16, Animas, Monitor and 13. Given our time frame, I was wondering if its possible to do Pigeon/Turret and 15/16 in 1 day, Animas/Monitor/13 in one day. How are the traverses between all of these? If this is a ludicrous question, forgive my ignorance, I've only seen these peaks from afar, first hand knowledge would serve me a much better purpose.

Lastly, whats the easiest way to get from Ruby Basin to Chicago Basin? Is Eolus reachable from Pk.16? I personally would like to finish off the Chi group with Eolus, maybe even pack out from there to Needleton instead of heading out via Ruby.

I'm sure extensive research with various guidebooks would be my best option, but I'm lazy right now and wanted to see if anyone has tried this or knows anything about it.

Thanks a lot for the help.

[rijaca]

Furthermore posted an excellent TR for these Ruby Creek peaks. Animas/Monitor/13 can be done in a day (see Garratt and Martin). Furthermore did 15/16/Pigeon/Turret in a day, but it sounds like a tough day (I couldn't/wouldn't do them in a day).

[lordhelmut]

rijaca,

thanks a lot for pointing this out, very helpful, just what I was looking for.

[Chris P.]

As far as getting to Chi basin from Ruby Creek, I've heard of people taking the pass just to the north of North Eolus above Ruby Creek over to Twin Thumbs pass between Glacier Point and Pk 11, then down into Chicago Basin. I believe there might even be a rough climbers trail between the two passes, but I'm not sure about that.

[Furthermore]

Twin Thumbs Pass via "Noname Pass" is best way to climb between the two basins. There is trail over "Noname Pass" and a very very weak trail or Twin Thumbs Pass. En-route over "Noname Pass" you can climb Peak 12 as I recently did. Henceforth, you can climb Peak 11 from Twin Thumbs Pass which I HIGHLY recommend. If you need beta on Peak 11 let me know.

[Floyd]

Brian, I did a ton of reading on these guys before my trip down there last fall. Garret and Martin describe a route from the Eolus saddle to Peak 16, but I think it would be a mess with a pack on (From what I remember, it's a scree pile back there). Pigeon will take time to climb, the route back in NY Basin is a long way from home and getting back to the P-T saddle will drain your energy. I imagine you could get all four in a blue-bird day, but I wouldn't bank on it. Budget 2 days for those and hope for the best. The route around Peak 12 (easy side trip) to Twin Thumbs pass is actually very easy - a lot more so than I expected. The last 20 feet or so to TT pass is a little tricky with a full pack but it's easy Class 3. Derek helped me out a ton on Peak 11 and that was well worth the little extra effort. I would recommend packing out from Chicago Basin, when you ascend the Ruby Creek "Trail" you'll be glad you're not returning the same way. Hopefully this helps, let me know if you want more info and I may be able to dig up some pictures of the terrain your looking for if you can't find them in TRs.

[lordhelmut]

Thanks guys for the responses.

Furthermore, your TR will be helpful.

Scott, thanks for the insight on Pigeon, I intend on a very early start that day. And yes, I'd much rather pack out of Chi Basin. I'll pm you if I have anymore questions. Thanks man.

[MtHurd]

It would probably be a good idea to bring a GPS. The Ruby Lake Trail is hard to follow in places.