Home > Trip Reports > April 20, 2005, Mt Baker, Easton/Squak Glaciers

April 20, 2005, Mt Baker, Easton/Squak Glaciers

4/20/05
WA Cascades West Slopes North (Mt Baker)
4770
5
Posted by Amar Andalkar on 4/20/05 11:16am
With the arrival of high pressure and springtime sun following 4 weeks of belated winter-like snowfall, David Coleman and I were eager to ski some big mountain lines. The forecast looked better farther north, with clear skies and 8000 ft freezing levels predicted, so we decided to head for Mt Baker and see if the spring corn had begun to form on the south facing slopes leading up to Sherman Peak. We left Seattle at 5 AM and eventually drove to 3100 ft on FR 13, within about 1 mile of the Schriebers Meadow trailhead. The road has snow patches and lots of mud for the previous half-mile, all covered in snowmobile tracks, and at 3100 ft there was 1-2 ft of compact snow, enough to block my 4WD Pathfinder. We skinned up the deserted road at 8 AM, on continuous snow except for a single short stretch of dirt, but most of the snow is along the road edges and so a few more days of sunny weather should make the road driveable to within about a quarter-mile of the trailhead. Current snowdepth at Schriebers Meadow (3400 ft) is about 3 ft, for comparison the average May 1 snowdepth there is 118" based on data from 1959-2000. In other words, in late April of a normal year,

David carves through the mashed potatoes past some exposed ice at the terminus of the Easton Glacier.
click here for an enlarged version of this photo.


Nice report, Amar.

Thanks for the report.

I've been asked what the current crevasse conditions are like on Mt Baker, so I might as well post a photo here if it will help others. This photo shows glacier conditions above 6500 ft on the south side (upper parts of Deming, Easton, Squak Glaciers).

It appears that on the Deming, Easton, and Squak Glaciers, crevasse conditions are more like mid-June of a typical year. The route appears to be continuous to the summit with no major detours or hazardous crossings, but extensive serac fields are open near the Easton standard route. Above 9000 ft on the Deming (where the Coleman route joins it), the route appears to be better up the right half of the Roman Wall, since a large block of seracs is protruding in the left half near 10400 ft.  I don't know what the current conditions are on the Coleman, but the Coleman is usually fairly safe travel until July in normal years, so May ought to be OK this year.  Obviously bringing a rope and glacier gear is very advisable this year, even if you don't end up using it.

Also, here's a photo from the southeast showing conditions on the Talum and Boulder Glaciers. I guess this is what the Ski Route Photos section of TAY was intended for, but it seems that no one uses it. That's too bad. Maybe I'll start posting some more photos there.


http://www.turns-all-year.com/skilinksfr.html

According to the above:  Schreiber's Meadow is now closed to Snomobiles.

Sorry the URL does not work.  But it is a link that can be reached from this website in the "access links" section.

Go to "winter recreation" and "more information about snomobiling".  Or take my word for it.


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april-20-2005-mt-baker-easton-squak-glaciers
Amar Andalkar
2005-04-20 18:16:04