The North Ridge Route, like the Coleman Glacier Route, begins three miles along the Heliotrope Ridge Trail, starting in old growth forest and climbing through flower filled avalanche chutes and over rocky moraines near the foot of the Coleman Glacier.

As the trail gains elevation the dense forest thins and just before the trees peter out you will come to the former site of Kulshan Cabin. Approximately two and a quarter miles from the trailhead the path forks. The right fork leads to the Coleman Glacier climbing route. From this point the trail climbs steeply along a moraine crest known as the Hogsback, leading to the toe of the Coleman Glacier.