Trip type: scramble
USGS quad: Snoqualmie Pass
In areas: Middle Fork Snoqualmie Drainage, South Fork Snoqualmie Drainage
Andrea and I took the Snow Lake trail to Gem Lake. At Gem Lake we crossed the outlet and followed a boot path up the NE ridge of Roosevelt. At a talus field around 5,500' we left the ridge for the south side and made a downward traverse below a cliff band. Past the cliff band there were two gullys leading up to a 5,600' basin that is between the true summit and the 5,760'+ north summit. We took the second gully up to the basin but the first gully is also supposed to go.
From the 5,600' basin we went SE up a ramp that led to the steep, exposed, heather slope that Roosevelt is known for. This section was complicated by frozen sod and a couple inches of snow. Nasty! After climbing the heather slope, a few minutes of easy scrambling led to the summit.
It looked like we could have gone up at the 5,500' talus field, traversed above the cliff band, then dropped into the 5,600' basin. This route may have been more direct.
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