Mount Mills
Ascent of Mount Mills (East Couloir, class 3), with Simon Wacziarg, July 30, 2021.
Timeline:
July 30, 2021. The alarm went off at 4:15 and we left the house at 4:50. This being a period of monsoon rains, we wanted an early start to be off the mountain by the time the forecasted rain would start (around noon). On the way up Rock Creek Road, as the day was breaking, a young bear (not a cub, but not yet an adult either) ran across the road. I swerved to avoid him, and did, but he hit the back of my car as I passed. We returned to see if he was seriously injured, but he was long gone. We concluded he was probably fine. We drove the rest of the way to the trailhead at Mosquito Flat and started hiking at 5:42. The approach went quickly, up the trail to Ruby Lake, on to Mills Lake mostly on a use trail, and then up the easy cross-country terrain to the base of the East Couloir of Mount Mills (which we reached at 8:30). A piece of webbing was hanging from the chockstone at the base of the couloir, which helped greatly with the initial steps. Above that, it is a horrendously loose chute with relatively easy climbing (class 2 with an occasional easy class 3 move). We were very glad to have brought helmets. We stayed in the main chute all the way, keeping to the right whenever in doubt. That led to gentler terrain, to a notch in the skyline, and to the west side of the ridge that connects Ruby Peak to Mount Mills. Some cairns on the west side guided us to the flat summit plateau. We were on top at 9:53. We enjoyed the outstanding views in all directions and headed down after less than 20 minutes, as the weather was worsening.
We descended the chute by sections, one at a time, waiting in alcoves on the side as the other was moving, so as to minimize the risk of showering each other with rocks. We were back at the base of the couloir at 11:10, and hurried down to Mills Lake as the weather worsened. A few drops started to fall as we reached the use trail that contours Mills Lake – at noon, as forecasted. A bit later, we met a group of three men, including a mountain guide named Eric. They were headed to Mills Lake, intent on climbing Mount Abbott the following day. We chatted for a while and continued on as the rain got worse. We stopped for lunch under an overhanging rock. I was worried it would start to pour, so we stopped for only a short while and continued on to Ruby Lake. Shortly before reaching the lake, the rain got much worse, and we got thoroughly soaked. It eased into a drizzle as we regained the trail, and we reached the trailhead at 13:57. We stopped for ice cream at the Rock Creek Lakes Resort. (An 8:15 hour day, 9.7 miles, 3,400 feet of elevation gain).