Mountaineering · YDS Class 3-4

South Spur

Distance RT
15.0 mi
Gain
8,100 ft
High Point
8,681 ft
Trailhead
Easy Pass Trailhead
3,701 ft elevation
Permit Required

A Northwest Forest Pass or other valid recreation pass is required for trailhead parking. A separate, itinerary-based backcountry permit from the National Park Service is required for any overnight stay once past Easy Pass, since the Ragged Ridge cross-country zone lies within North Cascades National Park; this is typically obtained from the Wilderness Information Center in Marblemount, though it is worth confirming the correct issuing office for an eastern, Highway 20-side approach.

Route Description

A remote Ragged Ridge scramble just west of Mesahchie Peak, sharing the same approach and high camp and considered one of the harder-to-reach non-technical Bulger-list peaks.

Approach

Follow the same approach used for Mesahchie Peak: drive to the Easy Pass Trailhead on Highway 20, hike the Easy Pass Trail to the pass (about 3.6 miles, 2,700 feet of gain), descend to around 5,050 feet near Fisher Creek, then climb and traverse west to a high camp around 6,600 feet below Mesahchie and Katsuk Peaks. From camp, head up the broad ridge system toward Katsuk, veering to make an ascending traverse below cliffs to a small waterfall around 7,760 feet; this is where the real scrambling begins. Bypass the waterfall on its west side, then follow a leftward-trending gully high on the peak that leads toward the mushroom-shaped summit block, staying alert since the lower half of this gully is hidden from view lower on the route and easy to lose track of. Katsuk has two summits of nearly identical height about a rope-length apart; most parties visit both, since which one is actually higher is genuinely disputed among the few climbers who have measured it.

Descent

Descend the climbing route back to high camp, retracing the gully and waterfall bypass; as with the approach, the hidden lower half of the gully is easy to misjudge from above.

Weather Forecast
⚠️
Air Quality: Moderate · AQI 58
PM2.5: 9.6 μg/m³ · Check conditions before travel
5-Day Air Quality Forecast
Today
101
Unhealthy
Tomorrow
43
Good
Sun, Sep 27
73
Moderate
Mon, Sep 28
82
Moderate
Tue, Sep 29
74
Moderate
PM2.5 wildfire smoke threshold: 35 μg/m³ · Source: CAMS via Open-Meteo
7-Day Forecast
Today
❄️
Snow
34° / 19°
91%
❄ 3.4"
💨22
Tomorrow
❄️
Snow
29° / 20°
45%
❄ 1.4"
💨15
Sun, Sep 27
☁️
Overcast
39° / 20°
💨10
Mon, Sep 28
🌧️
Drizzle
40° / 18°
13%
💨6
Tue, Sep 29
🌧️
Showers
29° / 25°
58%
💧0.64"
💨6
Wed, Sep 30
🌧️
Drizzle
33° / 16°
40%
💧0.01"
💨6
Thu, Oct 1
🌧️
Drizzle
28° / 15°
40%
💧0.02"
💨6
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