7/31-8/1/09, Mount Baker, Easton Glacier

August turns can be quite brutal to achieve, and even more so with full overnight gear on the back. Ah, such is the life of a ski fanatic€¦

Fast forward to the rock camp above the Railroad Grade Moraine at Mount Baker and I found myself setting up camp in one of the most beautiful places I have ever laid eyes upon. I was there  as a volunteer with a team who has been collecting data on several glaciers in the North Cascades since 1983 and figured there must be something still skiable up there. I made some calls, checked out some climbing reports, and deemed the carry worth the work, so up I went.

Camp itself made the journey all the more worthwhile as there were substantial views all around.  Twin Sisters to the SW, Black Buttes and Demming Glacier to the W-NW, towering Sherman Peak to the N, Eldorado and others to the East, Glacier Peak to the SE, and even a peek at Rainier from time to time. The Olympics and Puget Sound made Saturday an even more enjoyable day as they shone in the bright afternoon sun.

After surveying snowdepths Friday in the morning/ afternoon, I was left to my own devices for the late afternoon/ evening. Time for skiing! Skied a glacial ice-free snow slope just above camp and looker€™s left of the cleaver. The ~250 vf runs were just what I needed to cap off a great day on the glacier. I did 3 runs down the lightly suncupped, carveable surface. It provided much satisfaction despite the enormous undertaking required to get the skis up there. The slope will probably last a week at the most as its high point is revealing alot of glacial ice. Exhausted and hungry, I retreated back to my camp for the wonderful display of sunset and pollution induced colors.

Day two had us higher up on the glacier and allowed me to scope more lines for later that afternoon. Plenty of discontinuous slopes with intact firn were available to ski higher up, but not worth the hassle. I was told that the down glacier wind would help to reduce suncups and cooled the surface just below the ice fall to a fantastically skiable surface. My source was correct, the slope skied beautifully despite the hot beating sun having had its way with the slope all day. It was near the peak heat of the day and the snow still softened in only the upper inch, just enough to carve off the little cups. I decided to lap this longer slope three times and estimate it to have been ~500 vf, although it still yielded long runs as it was a mellower slope. Skiing in August sure can be fun! I decided to call it a day after the third run and made my way back to camp, skiing most of the way along the margin of the glacier to my camp on the other side of the lateral moraine. The next hour I spent gathering my things, strength, and will to leave, for the long descent was yet to come.

I felt I had timed the sun in the sky perfectly (avoided using a watch) so that I would arrive at the car just as the darkness consumed the valley€¦ I was right, just barely making it before it became too dark to travel without headlamp.

August turns could probably have been much easier, but not as beautiful without all this work.

Pic 1- slope above camp that I skied Friday 7/31
Pic 2- sunset over the Twin Sisters from camp
Pic 3- slope I skied Sat 8/1

More pics-

http://picasaweb.google.com/christopherlyles/EastonGlacier2009?feat=directlink