Home > Trip Reports > December 3, 2004, Mt Baker

December 3, 2004, Mt Baker

12/3/04
WA Cascades West Slopes North (Mt Baker)
3218
7
Posted by scotteryx on 12/3/04 8:00am
Headed for Table Mountain area this morning only to find out 2 of 3 people had beacons. So we decided to check out the conditions at the gate and found some instability on some of the slopes by the cat track up to Artist Point. With the visibility really bad, and one person with no beacon - we decided to take advantage of the $25 lift tickets that Mt Baker was offering.

Feeling like a minority amongst the snowboarders, we found some good stash spots here and there, with some nice glades here and there. But it did snow the entire time we were there.

Most of the steeps were very rocky and they need more coverage. Having never been there, I did not like the way the area was laid out, especially the lifts. Seems like we had to hike most of the time just to get to the lift lines. Chair 1,2, and 3 were running and not many people there.

Had some superb lines at the end of the day right by the BC gate down to the chair.
Thanks for the report.  Could you say a bit more about snowpack, the fresh snowfall, and what specific stability concerns you had?

You'll note that this sub-forum is for backcountry trip reports, and that there is a separate page on which to report ski area conditions.  

Thanks,

Mark

We skied one run in area Friday, and found the conditions best described as hideous -- what few lines were skiable were soon scraped to the underlying crust by beginning boarders. So we spent the afternoon in the BB Chutes.  We found a surprisingly good bond between the latest snowl ayers (Monday) and the rain crust. We could get nothing to move up to 40 degrees, and just minor sluff above that.

Today was different. We spent several runs in area testing different equipment setup.  It was 10" of that kind of 32 Baker "powder" that corregates in front of your feet. After two runs on TMEX'S, feeling like a rank beginner, I switched to Jak's and found that I could all of the sudden ski that stuff.  We headed again for the BB chutes and found that the new layer would slide at just under 40 degrees, but without propagation. Another group had a go at Little Alaska (55 degrees) and brought the whole slope down with them.

But this was storm day; you'd expect that. If the temperatures drop as expected tonight, I anticipate tomorrow to be one of those rare Baker "Chugash" days where nothing is too steep to be skied safely.

I anticipate tomorrow to be one of those rare Baker "Chugash" days where nothing is too steep to be skied safely.


Hee hee.  Guess I made the right decision by staying home to try to get things accomplished today.  Hey Tim, was it windy up there today?

Thanks,

Mark



was it windy up there today?



There were occasional gusts, but that Mt. Baker filler paste wasn't moving much.  Keep in mind, we left early to save some leg for tomorrow, so there could have been wind in the afternoon and evening that I do not know about. It is even possible that it might have rained a bit after I left. The telemetry site shows a bit of moisture between 3 and 5 pm with no increase in snow depth. It was raining at the White Salmon lodge when we retreated -- uh, left. If so, a slight hike above the valley floor should deliver you to ample fresh snow. I have not yet seen the slightest sign of that predicted turn toward colder temperatures that is needed to cement the various layers. But if it DOES get cold, and lay another 5" of smoke on top of the new base -- OWWOHEE!! ;D

(I think that is how you spell it?)

Thanks, Tim.  I'm going to head out and camp overnight in the rain, just to get psyched for the Chugach experience.  Maybe see you up there.

Note that the precip guage at the telemetry site is out of order, so it'll claim precipitation whenever the temperature warms to above freezing.  On the other hand, WA DOT claims wet snow.  One of those days with great skiing up high, then a band of breakable crust, then deep slop down low?

Enjoy,

Mark

Thanks for the report.  Could you say a bit more about snowpack, the fresh snowfall, and what specific stability concerns you had?


When we dug a pit on a 35 degree slope, the icy layer was directly underneath about 6-8 inches of unconsolidated snow with 2 inches of fresh on top of that. When I side slipped the slope, I was able to get some snow to slide as well. This in itself was not the reason we turned back, it was the one person w/o a beacon that worried me. If we did all have beacons that day, I still might have been a little sketched to venture out towards Table. My .02.

We skied some fresh lines directly below the gate for the last part of the day and had some good turns.

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december-3-2004-mt-baker
scotteryx
2004-12-03 16:00:04