June 20-21 Ptarmigan Rain
6/15/09
WA Cascades West Slopes North (Mt Baker)
2560
4
Mosetick and I set low expectations due to the forecast but headed to camp at Ptarmigan Ridge Saturday night. The route went 100% on snow except for a couple of carries of up to 30'. We got a brief nice sunset view through generally foggy and cloudy conditions with some mist and rain.
Sunday morning we slept in until 5:30 and then surveyed conditions, which were extremely mixed. Fog would roll in then out. Snow, then rain, then snow. We decided to head toward Coleman Pinnacle and see how it went. Going down and traversing we got cliffed out just above the gully that would yield a good climb straight up to the saddle just west of Coleman Pinnacle (headwaters of Wells Creek, I think). With more snow (earlier in season or better snow year) it would easily go.
We headed up and got to a place where we could angle down farther southwest. As we considered the wisdom of heading in given the mixed conditions, a thick freezing rain cloud bank rolled in and reduced vis to about 50', and it was time to head back to camp.
Mindful that anything could go wrong even in an apparently simple route, I took us back by compass (NNE) and mental map. Just as I was wondering about the correct moment to start angling up to the right, I came upon our tracks and we were good. We gathered up camp, got a nice vista of the route home SE of Table, and made our way back.
As we headed down from near Artist Point, rain settled in apparently for good and bade us goodbye from Baker. Of course it was sunny in Bellingham, which caused some family members to say that golf would have been a better father's day choice. What do they know.
Snow: Slushy, soft suncups, pollenized and somewhat dirty. Still easy to come and go over AP and the SE side of Table to Ptarmigan. Loads of routes to ski in the bowl NE of Coleman Pinnacle, easily 1000' runs there. Decent routes still open from AP down to Bagley Lake. It looked like it was possible to ski almost all the way down from Herman Saddle on the N side. The back (Chain Lakes) side of Herman Saddle looked more bare, could possibly be done but going fast, not skiable by the time you read this.
Sunday morning we slept in until 5:30 and then surveyed conditions, which were extremely mixed. Fog would roll in then out. Snow, then rain, then snow. We decided to head toward Coleman Pinnacle and see how it went. Going down and traversing we got cliffed out just above the gully that would yield a good climb straight up to the saddle just west of Coleman Pinnacle (headwaters of Wells Creek, I think). With more snow (earlier in season or better snow year) it would easily go.
We headed up and got to a place where we could angle down farther southwest. As we considered the wisdom of heading in given the mixed conditions, a thick freezing rain cloud bank rolled in and reduced vis to about 50', and it was time to head back to camp.
Mindful that anything could go wrong even in an apparently simple route, I took us back by compass (NNE) and mental map. Just as I was wondering about the correct moment to start angling up to the right, I came upon our tracks and we were good. We gathered up camp, got a nice vista of the route home SE of Table, and made our way back.
As we headed down from near Artist Point, rain settled in apparently for good and bade us goodbye from Baker. Of course it was sunny in Bellingham, which caused some family members to say that golf would have been a better father's day choice. What do they know.
Snow: Slushy, soft suncups, pollenized and somewhat dirty. Still easy to come and go over AP and the SE side of Table to Ptarmigan. Loads of routes to ski in the bowl NE of Coleman Pinnacle, easily 1000' runs there. Decent routes still open from AP down to Bagley Lake. It looked like it was possible to ski almost all the way down from Herman Saddle on the N side. The back (Chain Lakes) side of Herman Saddle looked more bare, could possibly be done but going fast, not skiable by the time you read this.
I went out today with my classic race skis and got in a nice 1 hr. ski around the ski area and out Bagley Lakes and up towards Herman Saddle. The rain wasn't too bad and the conditions made for easy skiing up and down. No klisters were harmed in the making of this tour.
If you like golf, you're not gonna like what we consider a day well spent.
Here is a link to a map of your adventure, Travertine. http://www.topoquest.com/map.php?lat=48.83758&lon=-121.72308&datum=nad27&zoom=8&map=auto&coord=d&mode=zoomin&size=l (It can be zoomed down to 4m per pixel)
we had had a so-so day in the same area last Monday. I missed the great views that one can usually experience here, but at least we didn't have rain.I thought that Herman's Saddle looked pretty bony when we had a brief opening in the clouds. The weather appears to be unsettled for awhile yet, but I may try your route this weekend.
we had had a so-so day in the same area last Monday. I missed the great views that one can usually experience here, but at least we didn't have rain.I thought that Herman's Saddle looked pretty bony when we had a brief opening in the clouds. The weather appears to be unsettled for awhile yet, but I may try your route this weekend.
Tarvertine, Thanks for everything!! A great trip, despite the less than ideal weather!!
Slideshow: http://www.the808.net/gallery/slideshow.php?set_albumName=June-2009
http://www.the808.net/gallery/June-2009
Pano stitched from 5 photos on Sunday morning (6-21-2009)
Sunset at Camp
Travertine in the clouds on the way back to camp.
Slideshow: http://www.the808.net/gallery/slideshow.php?set_albumName=June-2009
http://www.the808.net/gallery/June-2009
Pano stitched from 5 photos on Sunday morning (6-21-2009)
Sunset at Camp
Travertine in the clouds on the way back to camp.
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