Home > Trip Reports > May 5, 2012, Mt. Baker, Coleman-Deming/Variation

May 5, 2012, Mt. Baker, Coleman-Deming/Variation

5/5/12
WA Cascades West Slopes North (Mt Baker)
3273
8
Posted by bellingham on 5/6/12 12:55pm
Edited title and added photos.

Steffan and I skied a fun line that started on the Roman wall, skied right under the big rime mushrooms near the top, and down the ice-fall lookers right of the Coleman headwall using a big ramp between big ice cliffs.  For all we know this is a popular ski descent, but if anyone knows the name of this route I'd appreciate the beta.  Conditions were excellent: stable cold boot top powder.  I imagine things got cooked pretty well today, but just wanted to let people know that it's properly fat up there right now and the headwall looks to be in.  Cracks were filled in nicely but mind the warming weather.

Thank you PGS crew for the trail.  We left our 7,000 ft camp at 10:15 in full whiteout knowing that visibility should improve and hoping temps stayed cool.  You guys were probably an hour ahead of us.  Very big props on the long day you all put in.

This was a nice end to two weeks of trying to ski and getting shut down big time on the Bugaboos to Rogers Pass traverse (but that's a different TR).  Thanks Steffan for stoking the fire to ski this line and for the photos.

This was my first time up Baker and won't be forgotten for a good while.

Cheers,

Travis

My friends and I were looking at that line last weekend but got socked in on the way up. glad to hear it goes, how was the choke?

Sorry to hear you guys got weathered out.  We got super lucky with a brief weather window with the cloud deck about 200 vf below the end of the business.  We had a good full glass of luck yesterday.

The line we skied was just lookers right of the obvious "hourglass" choke line far lookers left on that face.  As I was trying to hit the ramp, I skied over to the top of that hourglass line.  It was quite the roller and I couldn't see down far enough to tell you if it was all clear, but I bet it was fine.  Still worth bringing a rope and a screw or two.

Big Gulps huh?

Thanks to Ryan and Trav for getting out on the Bugs to Rogers Journey, TR soon to follow

author=bellingham link=topic=24712.msg104368#msg104368 date=1336362932]
Steffan and I skied a fun line that started on the Roman wall, skied right under the big rime mushrooms near the top, and down the ice-fall lookers right of the Coleman headwall using a big ramp between big ice cliffs.  For all we know this is a popular ski descent, but if anyone knows the name of this route I'd appreciate the beta.


As far as I know, that ski line is usually referred to as the Roman Moustache, which is defined in Beckey's Cascade Alpine Guide, vol.3 (3rd ed., p. 31) as "a gully variation (The Moustache) between the Roman Wall and Coleman Glacier Headwall". However, given his description, I think it would be more accurate to say that the Moustache is between the Roman Wall and Roman Nose, which he defines as the "2000-ft snakelike cleaver between Coleman Glacier Headwall and the Roman Wall" on the same page. The "big rime mushrooms" are the top of the Roman Nose, which is the entire left skyline in your first photo.

The line you skied (assuming it's the big ramp between seracs, left-center in your first photo) gets skied occasionally whenever it's filled in, some of my friends first skied it in 2003, and it probably had been skied before that. Don't know any specifics on ski descents of the hourglass variation to its left, though.


Hi Travis.  Thanks for posting.  Could you advise on road conditions to trail head at present?  Still snow on road 4 miles out from trail head?

looks sweet!  Thanks for the report, I was wondering what Baker would be like.  How's the access?  Road condition to Grouse Creek?

edit: whoops, doubled that question! what Bigtree said...

Still cant get to the trail head. We skinned 2 miles-ish after parking and walking for about a mile. there's just enough snow to detour most from driving the mile we walked. Thought about exiting via grouse but ended up going in and out on the summer trail. It was pretty fast when we hit it, camp to car in an hour and a half on descent.

Thanks Amar - I found a report from Sam Lozier of famousinternetskiers.com of the line being skied (with arguably more direct start) by Sam and party.  They called it the Roman Mustache as well.  The hourglass feature lookers left (walled in by the Roman nose) looks fun too, although I bet the schrund at the bottom opens open pretty quickly in the spring.


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may-5-2012-mt-baker-coleman-deming-variation
bellingham
2012-05-06 19:55:32