Home > Trip Reports > August 6-7, 2005, BAKER, Park HW via BP Cleaver

August 6-7, 2005, BAKER, Park HW via BP Cleaver

8/6/05
WA Cascades West Slopes North (Mt Baker)
17381
25
Posted by Jason_H. on 8/8/05 9:25pm
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this pretty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

....Shakespeare: Macbeth




Note: I linked a few photos. I have a lot more, but I'm too lazy to make links.

Summer skiing is like ice cream for breakfast. Mount Baker is just one big sundae.  

Paul, Josh and I found ourselves deciding that a bivy Saturday night would add to our weekend splurge. The shooting stars rocketed across the night's sky and the Milky Way wowed our dulled senses more used to the cities muffled reflection of it.  

The warm breeze reawakened us at 7am. Hannah and Seth, who had slept at the parking lot, could be seen inching up towards us. Meanwhile we gathered our gear and were able to meet them at the end of the moraine, pass a hello, before continuing up to the fixed line that leads to the ridge top.  

http://cascadecrusades.org/SkiMountaineering/MountBaker/Routes/parkhw/parkhwaug2005/LOOKATTHAT02dup.JPG

There was snow where the ridge steepened, and this is where we all met up again before continuing with shoes up both the rock and snow, whatever appeared the easiest. After a few thousand feet, battle with the intolerable heat had won a victory, and left us downing our supply of water to lessen the sting of defeat.  

More climbing up snowfields eventually ended as we made our way off of the Boulder-Park Cleaver onto the glacier proper. Crampons were strapped on so we could stay on the ice rather than the soft snow and they were kept on since the Park Headwall was coming up.  

After another break we made the final push to the summit by first negotiating a bergschrund. We figured since Seth works for RMI (a guiding service), and since he does this stuff for a living, we'd allow him the privilege of breaking tracks for us. After he climbed over the cornice on top, a "Thanks man," from each of us was payment enough.  

It became quit a bit more chilly on the summit and coats were quickly adorned to fend off its chill effects. Either that or thoughts of the Park Headwall were worming into our confidence. Either way the summit wouldn't be extending any invitations and we weren't inclined to overstay our welcome.  

http://cascadecrusades.org/SkiMountaineering/MountBaker/Routes/parkhw/parkhwaug2005/HEADWALLEXPOSURE04.JPG

http://cascadecrusades.org/SkiMountaineering/MountBaker/Routes/parkhw/parkhwaug2005/JOSHENTRANCE03.JPG

Seth and Paul didn't feel comfortable skiing the headwall and joined Hannah on the descent of the Boulder Glacier while Josh and I looked for the best place to drop in. The snow throughout wasn't appealing, offering an icy crust (that easily broke away) over slush and another layer of hard snow. At the top I did manage to turn, if conservatively while lower down I resorted to the classic sidestep and sideslip technique. When we both arrived at the bottom, we were pretty happy. One of these days I'd like to get that route in good condition; it makes all the difference.  

Fortunately there was still thousands of feet of promising skiing to go, the first turns of which we watched as the others skied down to join us. There was some scattered rocks and Hannah didn't want to scratch her nice skis, so she took them off and fumbled one of them. In a gulp the first crevasse hungrily swallowed.  

http://cascadecrusades.org/SkiMountaineering/MountBaker/Routes/parkhw/parkhwaug2005/CRAVASSESETH04.JPG

Since we hadn't used the rope, now seemed like a good time to do so. Paul would lower Seth who had just finished making a bollard with his skis, down into the crevasse. Near the end of the rope which is a 100-ft, he called out, "I see it 20-ft below!" Paul was looking at maybe 5-ft of rope. I got his pack to lay on and he gave him as much slack as possible. We didn't know whether or not he was able to retrieve it until he climbed over the top...with a ski and a weary expression. He told us, "I was on a ledge when I yelled that I had 20-ft, when that broke and dropped me another 10. With your slack and my inverting and reaching out with my axe, I was able to snag it."  

The sun had lagged behind Baker and the shadow now marched down the glacier, always one step ahead of us. There was so much wide open terrain up there that we couldn't help ourselves. The route did tighten up into a chute which we all skied down before waiting in the next slope. There I told Hannah, who is new to skiing that she should "...go first. It's so much better that way." Well, we did provide her with a show.  

http://cascadecrusades.org/SkiMountaineering/MountBaker/Routes/parkhw/parkhwaug2005/SETHCHUTE01.JPG

All four of us raced ahead; Paul and Josh in front with myself and Seth just behind. We were all pretty close to each other when we came to a constriction. From the look of it, there was snow on the other side, somewhat molding the two slopes into one. Unfortunately this was just an appearance. I'd like to say there was some other reason for what we were about to do, but I can't give you anything definitive. We just skied off of the lip, with no check on our speed, no look over. Nothing. All I remember seeing is rock and hearing Josh and Paul crashing into them while I was in mid-air. 20-ft or more downslope I landed on steep blue ice and within 10-ft crashed into a boulder. My pack took most of the force of what must have been 20 mph. What I remember most is my head glancing off of the volcanic rock and the pain in my ass. Between those and the cold, dripping ice I was surprised to see the others standing. Josh took at least 20-feet vertical and did the only thing he could, he stuck it. With no helmet there was no choice. The cost was two bruised knees, sprained ankle and thumb, random cuts and bruises, and a quarter inch section of his scalp missing. Both my arms were cheese graded, my head smashed, and worst of all the bruise on my rump. Paul was further right than both of us, and ended up with his share of cuts and bruises, but no debilitating wounds. Hannah put it this way, "That was one of the most horrific things I have ever witnessed."  

Now how about the hike out and the remainder of the ski? I was doing my share of whining, but in all actuality, I think that Josh got the worst of it. There was a section of rock to down climb before one last ski down to water. Seth and Hannah were nice enough to help us get our ski gear situated before the hike out, me most of all because I had a difficult time bending over. I took the hike slow and dreaded the fixed line and the ~60-ft of rock. In all actuality it wasn't that bad.  

Finally back at our camp, our gear was split amongst the living. Hannah had a first aid kit and helped me inventory my wounds and get some antiseptic on. Since I knew that I would be the slowest, I continued. When the others caught up I told stories to make the time fly by. At least for me. Sorry guys ;).  

Of course, what is an epic without a miserable hike out in the dark that makes you dream of the Twilight Zone, and how your group is the victim of a never-ending trail. Once at the cars, all fanciful imaginings could be forgotten, but the wounds would leave a lasting impression not as easily buried.  

For now, I think that I'll get a bowl when I want ice cream rather than eating out of the carton. As for summer, I believe that I'm truly going fishing this time.
I'd like to say there was some other reason for what we were about to do, but I can't give you anything definitive. We just skied off of the lip, with no check on our speed, no look over. Nothing. All I remember seeing is rock and hearing Josh and Paul crashing into them while I was in mid-air. 20-ft or more downslope I landed on steep blue ice and within 10-ft crashed into a boulder. My pack took most of the force of what must have been 20-30mph. What I remember most is my head glancing off of the volcanic rock and the pain in my ass. Between those and the cold, dripping ice I was surprised to see the others standing. Josh took at least 20-feet vertical and did the only thing he could, he stuck it. With no helmet there was no choice. The cost was two bruised knees, sprained ankle and thumb, random cuts and bruises, and a quarter inch section of his scalp missing. Both my arms were cheese graded, my head smashed, and worst of all the bruise on my rump. Paul was further right than both of us, and ended up with his share of cuts and bruises, but no debilitating wounds. Hannah put it this way, "That was one of the most horrific things I have ever witnessed."


That was one of the most hilarious things I have ever read... with all due respect, wtf, you retards!  How many times do I have to tell you guys to leave the jibbing to snowboarders.  Don't you know you can't ollie on skis?

ps. sorry I couldn't make it, I can't stay away from work... even on the weekends.  such is grad school.  Very nice pictures.  awesome.

Wow!

Nice to bump into you guys on the summit.  I hoped you would make it down without incident.  Sounds like you might have had a couple.  

How did Seth fare with the constriction and rocks and all?

Edited to add, "Thanks for posting the report!"


Note: I linked a few photos. I have a lot more, but I'm too lazy to make links.



http://cascadecrusades.org/SkiMountaineering/MountBaker/Routes/parkhw/parkhwaug2005/

Wow!

Nice to bump into you guys on the summit.  I hoped you would make it down without incident.  Sounds like you might have had a couple.  

How did Seth fare with the constriction and rocks and all?

Edited to add, "Thanks for posting the report!"


Seth stopped in time.

Nice to run into you guys also. Now I can put a name to a face. What a nice day, eh?

Wow.
That clearly sounded like a "bonding experience".  
Glad 'yall got back in one piece.

thats a hell of a story...glad you guys are okay.

how'd the skis handle the high speed encounter with the rocks?  if you wanna borrow a p-tex gun, I got one.


Pete, these guys need a p-tex canon!

That looks like a sweet trip! Great photos!

By the way, what time did you start your climb up the headwall...and what time did you start your descent of the headwall?

The HW didn't take long to climb (maybe a half an hour) and we didn't stay long on the summit, maybe 15-30 minutes, long enough to change cloths and get ready. The HW was under a shadow for the most part when we skied it. The top was alright, the bottom wasn't great.

Pete: Thanks for the offer. I'll have to let you know. I haven't even looked at the skis, but like Tim said, we may need a p-tex canon...

edit to add: I'm not sure when we started down, maybe at 2 or 3pm. One of the others may know. I don't carry a watch...

I'd think P-tex gouges are the least of the concern.  What about those poor edges?  20mph impact to large rocks=broken edges/delam ???

Tognar toolworks- gave them plenty of money this past season cause of the low snowpack... ;)

check their 'surgery tools' page....new edges, screws, and epoxy

http://www.tognar.com/surgery_repair_equipment_tools_ski_snowboard.html#SPK-SEC


they also carry a specially formulated p-tex cord that bonds particularly well to metal edges for those next-to-edge gouges.



Thanks for the offer, Pete, I've got Tognar's ptex iron, string, and metalgrip. Of course, that's of little use to Josh's coreshot ski sitting in Tacoma.

I maintain that the above is Hummel Hyperbole. The mountain was merely playfully embracing our presence. All heights, speeds, and times as reported by Jason should be considered untrustworthy. Further proof is the minimal nature of the damage inflicted upon our gear.

I, for one, will continue wearing a helmet, even in 'easy' terrain.

Matt C: we summitted around 3:49 (well, I did, I was a few minutes behind), and started skiing at about 4:00.

As any story by a Hummel goes, "I sh*t you not, there I was..."

Maybe Hannah or Seth will chime in  ;)

If I'm smart enough to ski off a cliff then maybe my intelligence is somewhat lacking when it comes to numbers and such  8) but I must beseech of all of you, "Don't follow a Pbelitz."


Pete, these guys need a p-tex canon!

we have a couple 20m x 30cm rolls of p-tex laying around; and enough edges for 30 pairs of skis.  need some?   ;D

Pete, these guys need a p-tex canon!

we have a couple 20m x 30cm rolls of p-tex laying around; and enough edges for 30 pairs of skis.  need some?   ;D

Pete, these guys need a p-tex canon!

we have a couple 20m x 30cm rolls of p-tex laying around; and enough edges for 30 pairs of skis.  need some?   ;D

???
I was wondering... does anyone know if Kam has a couple of rolls of p-tex?   20cmx30cm would be good. And some edges too..

...so a couple rolls x 3 messages = six rolls of p-tex, right?

am i repeating myself...


Hannah put it this way, "That was one of the most horrific things I have ever witnessed."


Just to clarify, it was THE most horrific thing I've ever witnessed, and Seth agreed. Seeing those guys fly past me, over the drop and into the rocks was a stunner. Looking at them crumpled below, I was sure that there would be numerous broken bones. Luckily the boys hung tough and walked out.

But man, it was a fun climb and ski. I guess you can tell by the picture that I was enjoying myself  :).

That does sound horrific. Last year we witnessed an accident in almost the same spot. A couple decided to glissade down the first steep section of the cleaver. Unfortunately for them, they decided not to take their crampons off. When the lady started her glissade she must have caught her crampon point...because all we heard was a high pitched scream and then witnessed her tumble towards the rocks below. Fortunately her tumbles and groans slowed her down as she neared the rocks...she was OK after losing some of her gear...thought for sure she would have been worse off. Remember, take your crampons OFF when glissading!!!

Ahhh, I remember that. But who here wants to glissade?! I think it was her husband who pulled her off course (roped up), and she started to roll and ragdoll. He stuck a crampon point in his leg, and the gear explosion at the bottom was spectacular. I also remember the "hardman" husband say "oh, that, yeah, we just went for a little slide." ........Come on dude, you just almost killed your wife!!!!!......Glad you guys are OK, injuries suck.

FWIW, there are still (August 21) five sets of petrified tracks coming down the dirty snow next to the cleaver.  There are still no suncups and just a few runnels here and there, but your tracks have somehow transmorgrified into giant, randomly scattered moguls.  Otherwise, the skiing remains good.

I took a quick look for bloodstains, sundered body parts or fleshy remnants, but found nothing of any significance.

I'm glad the mountain remembers us (petrified tracks) because I sure remember her. Maybe I'll have to go back for september turns  ;D

Here is a picture of what we went off; mind you we were skiing towards where the photo (actually a video capture) was taken from:

http://cascadecrusades.org/SkiMountaineering/MountBaker/Routes/parkhw/parkhwaug2005/DSC00169.JPG ...

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august-6-7-2005-baker-park-hw-via-bp-cleaver
Jason_H.
2005-08-09 04:25:26