Feb12, 2011, Mt. Baker Backcountry
2/12/11
WA Cascades West Slopes North (Mt Baker)
2444
1
The forecast looked less than promising, but Ive got to work tomorrow. My options were stark: sit around at home and continue to monitor my increasing girth¦.or ski. I chose to ski; I can always resume girth-monitoring duties another day.
I arrived just in time for my customary crack of noon start. For some reason, people were leaving in droves as I got there. I found a good parking space, stepped out of the van and got knocked to my knees by the wind. Hmmm.
Into the maw of the tempest: steady snowfall, shrieking winds, bad visibility and thoroughly scoured snow surfaces. Where did all the snow end up, if not on any of the aspects I skied? I headed for Swift Creek Trees, famous refuge in times of bad visibility, high avalanche danger and wind. The winds, which elsewhere seemed approximately from the west through north, were blasting straight up the drainage from the east. I dropped in anyway, thinking the winds would surely dissipate below the crest. Uh, no. At times it was difficult to maintain forward momentum, even in the fall line on 35 degree slopes. I fought my way through the trees into the open avalanche runouts beyond to change to uphill mode; I was more afraid of falling trees than of avalanches. I felt my way back uphill, then down through the deserted ski area to my car and called it a day.
Winds blew locally from almost all points of the compass at a steady 50-60 mph with higher gusts. This, with at least a foot of fresh snow, recommends a cautious approach to backcountry excursions for the next couple of days, since there is definitely lots of windslab, even in sheltered areas down in the trees. In some places the forming slabs bridge softer recent snow underneath, but I didnt stop to inspect more carefully. One all-time first: I really wished Id brought earplugs to tone down the deafening clatter of graupel hitting my hood at 60+ mph. It was loud, and it was unrelenting.
Downhill traffic was ridiculously thick and slow, perhaps taking a hint from the two vehicles which had slid off the outsides of curves and were on display perched rather precariously at the tops of steep dropoffs into the woods. There were many, many police of various sorts tending toone can only assumepatrons of the beer garden and other Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom festivities.
I arrived just in time for my customary crack of noon start. For some reason, people were leaving in droves as I got there. I found a good parking space, stepped out of the van and got knocked to my knees by the wind. Hmmm.
Into the maw of the tempest: steady snowfall, shrieking winds, bad visibility and thoroughly scoured snow surfaces. Where did all the snow end up, if not on any of the aspects I skied? I headed for Swift Creek Trees, famous refuge in times of bad visibility, high avalanche danger and wind. The winds, which elsewhere seemed approximately from the west through north, were blasting straight up the drainage from the east. I dropped in anyway, thinking the winds would surely dissipate below the crest. Uh, no. At times it was difficult to maintain forward momentum, even in the fall line on 35 degree slopes. I fought my way through the trees into the open avalanche runouts beyond to change to uphill mode; I was more afraid of falling trees than of avalanches. I felt my way back uphill, then down through the deserted ski area to my car and called it a day.
Winds blew locally from almost all points of the compass at a steady 50-60 mph with higher gusts. This, with at least a foot of fresh snow, recommends a cautious approach to backcountry excursions for the next couple of days, since there is definitely lots of windslab, even in sheltered areas down in the trees. In some places the forming slabs bridge softer recent snow underneath, but I didnt stop to inspect more carefully. One all-time first: I really wished Id brought earplugs to tone down the deafening clatter of graupel hitting my hood at 60+ mph. It was loud, and it was unrelenting.
Downhill traffic was ridiculously thick and slow, perhaps taking a hint from the two vehicles which had slid off the outsides of curves and were on display perched rather precariously at the tops of steep dropoffs into the woods. There were many, many police of various sorts tending toone can only assumepatrons of the beer garden and other Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom festivities.
^^^ A very accurate account of the Baker backcountry today. We started a little earlier and had an excellent run in the Diamond Trees to start the day, but it quickly digressed into what you described above.
It didn't take much effort skinning out of Swift Creek around 2 PM given the sustained 50 mph tail wind!
It didn't take much effort skinning out of Swift Creek around 2 PM given the sustained 50 mph tail wind!
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