Home > Trip Reports > Feb 19, 2011, Mt. Baker @ss kicking

Feb 19, 2011, Mt. Baker @ss kicking

2/19/11
WA Cascades West Slopes North (Mt Baker)
4172
8
Posted by Pierce on 2/21/11 3:06am
With a forecast of a clear day on Saturday and low winds we decided to try a single day summit of Baker.  We got shut down ~1,500 below the summit where Coleman Glacier meets Deming.  The last hour or so of our ascent the wind finished what the cold started and we decided to turn around.

On a long day like we had, we needed periodic rest stops along the way.  Because it was soo cold we couldnt stop for more than 5 minutes or so.  So we found ourselves in a Catch-22.  We would need to rest to keep climbing, but we couldnt rest because of the cold, so we kept climbing virtually nonstop.

In short, Baker sent us home with our tails tucked between our legs.  However, the trip was not without its lessons learned and moments of joy.

The snow on the Coleman was deep wind deposited powder, too dense to really glide, so it was slow going.  Lower Coleman to Heliotrope had the best snow, light powder that allowed you to bounce from turn to turn.  From Heliotrope to timberline was really dense wind packed snow over bomber ice.  The snow below timberline was soft and deep.

The below link has a lengthy trip report, video, and pics of the day.

Enjoy,

http://www.thealpineobsession.com/baker-feb.html
Reminds me of my all night trip up there last year. It was slightly warmer though.

Isn't the light up there in the morning great?

Nice job and nice try.  Cool reading your trip report (long version) and watching the video.

Baker kicked my arse last year (wasn't even a winter attempt) when we tried the all nighter so think I can understand some of what you're feeling.  It took a while to appreciate how much fun the trip was in spite of not making our goal.  & a lot of lessons learned.

A couple of us went back later in the season for our second all nighter and made it to the summit (just in time for sunrise) so felt like we got some redemption... I'm sure you and your crew will do the same.

it's pretty cool when that sun comes up early morning - even when it's still damn cold.

BTW, hopefully you bought Roman the buger and beer since he did so much trailbreaking!  Sounds like a great guy to have on the climbing team.

Nice effort in adverse conditions.

How far up the road could you drive? Elevation / distance from trailhead?

A group of us were loosely considering a one-day summit attempt (or summit traverse from Coleman-Deming via Park Glacier to the ski area) on that same day, and wondering how much road we might need to skin up. But we decided to head for Coleman Pinnacle near the ski area instead, and skied several runs of blower pow on its north slopes. We experienced the same cold gusty E-NE wind at several locations all day, which was surprising given the forecast for low winds, but luckily it hadn't affected the powder on wind-protected aspects.


@lrudholm - Yes, the light up there is pretty amazing.  Even in the middle of the night, the moonlight reflecting off the snow created enough light to climb without headlamps.  Pretty cool.

@Chris - Thanks.  After that much effort, not reaching the summit was a real downer, but like you said, a couple days removed you can really appreciate the trip, (the views, the skiing, the total experience).  The summit would have justified the suffering a little bit :) 

@Amar - The road is closed to wheeled traffic about 1 mile, ~200 vert from the Trail Head.  However, the snow starts much earlier, (maybe two miles earlier) so an AWD vehicle would be advisable.  BTW love your website, I have consulted it on every volcano I've skied so far, (especially the matrix with route/rating/elev gain/rt description) very useful stuff.  Thanks!!

360 degree panorama taken from the summit on Saturday. We skinned up from forest service road 13 on the south side. We were able to drive to mile 1.7 at which point were required to park. One could push further if they wanted to in an AWD vehicle although there was a sign prohibiting vehicles past that point. The snowmachines remained below us for a good part of the day as we got a good jump start, but they eventually caught up with us. They weren't too much of a nuisance until on the way out through the trees where the exhaust seemed to linger. While we got more sun, I'm thinking you guys were able to enjoy the serenity of it a little more sans exhaust.

All in all, it was a beautiful night and an incredible day to be out. Great trip report BTW and nice work on making it as far as you guys did as cold it was. I'm curious, did you guys take the standard route or the grouse-creek drainage through the tree line?

author=Chris link=topic=19795.msg83825#msg83825 date=1298322724]
BTW, hopefully you bought Roman the buger and beer since he did so much trailbreaking!  Sounds like a great guy to have on the climbing team.


:-) Thanks.   No, he didn't buy me a burger, although he did have a sixpack in the car that tasted better than any other sixpack had ever tasted before.

Chris (@Pierce) contributed to saving my ass in the mountains at least once when I broke my leg last May on that very same route midway through the Coleman Glacier, so I figured my share of sixpack is more than a fair deal for a little trailbreaking this time :-)

So yeah, we totally believe that we are great guys to have on the climbing team :-)  We certainly welcome any other unpretentious skiers to join us, particularly those who happen to be in enough shape to volunteer for trailbreaking when they feel it can speed up the party :-)

@jdustinb - Nice job on your summit!  How was the snow on the South side?  Have to say, I'm a little jealous ;) Nice 360 Panorama.  How long did it take you guys Car to Car? 

We took the Standard Route, I'm not familiar with the Grouse Creek drainage route.  I would like to learn it where it goes though, I've heard its much more efficient.


I recall reading that the route taken on this map details the grouse-creek drainage route through the tree line. Can someone confirm? Definitely something I'm hoping to get better familiarized with myself:

http://www.skimountaineer.com/Trips/BakerSki99/BakerColemanMap.html

Car to Car it ended up taking 13 hours as we left at 3:30am and made it back at 4:30pm. The snow was pretty variable depending on where we were - the upper part was mostly decent wind blown powder, the mid-section went between pockets of the same and densely packed wind driven snow on a hard crust layer (railroad grade material) and the lower part was pretty tracked out by the sleds by the time we made it back down. All in all, it was still a great run; riding the splity on the mini snow dunes through the mid-section was a bit like surfing :)

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feb-19-2011-mt-baker-ss-kicking
Pierce
2011-02-21 11:06:39