Mount Gilbert

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Mount Gilbert
Elevation 11120'

An Excellent Climb in the Ruby Mountains
June 13, 2020
40.6243°N / 115.4461°W

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The Ruby Mountains of northeast Nevada are a beautiful alpine mountain range home to waterfalls, wildflowers, verdant valleys, and many rugged peaks rising to over 11,000 feet in elevation. One such 11er in the Rubies is Mount Gilbert, an impressive peak visible from Lamoille Canyon. The most common route used to reach the summit of Mount Gilbert is a steep climb up the north face.

Our weather forecast closer to home called for rain, so Michael suggested heading south to the Rubies for a climb of Mount Gilbert, and plans were set. I picked up Michael and John F at 5am and we hit the road. Thunderstorms along the way had us questioning our choice of destinations, but we when we arrived at the trailhead near Camp Lamoille, the sun was shining!

We made our way through the camp area, up the Right Fork Lamoille Creek, and soon crossed the creek at an unmarked spot just above some beaver ponds. This creek crossing is critical, and we almost missed it. Up the trail we went, enjoying the great scenery including wildflowers and many waterfalls. We also had good views of Gilbert as we made our way up. The peak looked steep!

After about 2 miles of hiking, the trail crests into the upper valley, and it was time for us to hang a right and head toward Gilbert. Crossing the creek is the first obstacle, and water shoes are recommended. Once passed the creek, it was time to head up. As we climbed, we avoided the center of the north face cirque due to thicker vegetation, and stuck to the east side (climber’s left).

It was slow going as we wound our way up the steep slopes. At around 10,300’ we reached the snowfield high on Gilbert’s north face, where we donned crampons for some snow climbing. Conditions were perfect. Soft enough to gain purchase, but supportive enough to avoid post-holing. The steepness was gradual at first, but reached 45 degrees as we approached the upper section of snow that extended westward above a ledge with some small trees on it. We traversed across the steep snow and made it to the rock on the other side.

From below, we could see that the rock was going to be steep. But from other reports we knew it should be doable. So up we went, scrambling up steep but stable rock. We each took slightly different routes, but the most straightforward was a direct climb to the small saddle just east of the summit. From there it was a less steep final section to the highpoint.

Summit views were exceptional, and Michael described the peaks around us. The Rubies are definitely an impressive alpine mountain range. We took photos and had a bite to eat while soaking I the views. But we still had a lot of work left to do, with some steep and careful down climbing standing between us that the trail far below.

We made our way carefully down the steep upper section, back across and down the snowfield, and then mostly retraced our route back down the east side of the cirque. Reaching the valley floor was a welcome site, and after getting back across the creek, all that remained was a couple miles of trail back to the car.

It had been a great day in the mountains. My first time in the Rubies, and Mount Gilbert was an impressive peak and a challenging climb. Round trip was just over 9 miles and 4600’ elevation gain in 9 hours round trip. Plan B ended up being better than plan A, and I will definitely be back to spend more time in this range.