September 5, 2011, MB, Coleman Pinnacle Basin
9/5/11
WA Cascades West Slopes North (Mt Baker)
2526
2
The intrepid Mr. Wong and I headed for Mt Baker & the end of the road at Bagley Lakes (Artists Point still closed) on Monday. Our theory that an outting on the last day of a 3 day weekend would provide the lowest crowd potential proved true beyond all expectation. Ptarmigan ridge and Coleman Pinnacle basin remained devoid of other human travelers the entire day. But for a smallpatch, snow is continuous from the base of Ptarmigan ridge. The warm temperatures (no bugs!?) turned the suncups pliable and soft for enjoyable skinning and smooth riding turns. For a late afternoon break, we shared brief company with a herd of goats on a high ridge, and with evening shadows creeping over the ridges we departed relunctantly, but with a new destination in mind...Pizza at the Beer Shrine!
Nice, it looked really good out there!
DAMN that is a lot of snow still. Sometimes that south facing slope in pic#1 is just patches by mid July. Looks like the snow is still enabling very efficient traversing once beyond the Ptarmigan/Chain Lake trail split.
Pizza and beer certainly is a powerful draw; that (or cheeseburgers and beer) is one of the few things that can get me down off a nice snowy mountain in the hours prior to sunset when there were still turns for the having.
Pizza and beer certainly is a powerful draw; that (or cheeseburgers and beer) is one of the few things that can get me down off a nice snowy mountain in the hours prior to sunset when there were still turns for the having.
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