Home > Trip Reports > March 4, Baker, Park Butte, Lower Easton

March 4, Baker, Park Butte, Lower Easton

3/4/15
WA Cascades West Slopes North (Mt Baker)
4199
8
Posted by tabski on 3/4/15 11:32am
Easily drove my Honda Civic to within 100m of the Schreiber Meadows TH with my buddy Joe.  ≥ Subie will make it to the shitter. Cold night/morning temps, gently warming day. Hiked dry/icy trail to appx. 4,500' for clean switch to skinning. First, made a quick run from top of Railroad Grade back towards Park Butte, then climbed to and skied from Park Butte, and then ascended past Sandy Camp to appx. 7,200' from where we skied down edge of Easton Glacier, past the terminus, and as far down the creek as possible -- about 4,200'.

Big mix of snow conditions up there. Between .5'' and 5'' of dry, wind deposited/affected powder on cold, sheltered mid-elevation aspects. Funky sun-transformed wind slab in spots. Old, textured icy surfaces where wind-scoured and cold. Excellent corn on sunward, wind scoured slopes below 6k'.

Coverage on Easton looks quite suspect to me. Hardly any snowpack showing. Big bergschrunds across bottom of Sherman Peak and E end of Roman Wall.

In all, a great day of ski touring. Hadn't been up there since July when Davide and I visited Liz, who was working a week-long Baker summit trip with a group of US Border Patrol agents.

We summited baker on Sunday March 01 via Easton and the coverage was fine (of course this was my 1st time so I have no reference!).  The conditions for riding were manky for the most part given the filtered sun and cooler temps didn't allow any softening of the lumpy crust.  There was 1 section of decent low angle blown in snow between 8000-7000ft on the East side on Easton (a small valley below some ice sliffs) but that was it although the railroad grade was sheltered and thus also offered decent riding.  Yes there were lots of crevasses but easily spotted.  We did cross a few cracks which were in the process of opening which was disconcerting.  Skinned to the fumeroles and summited on foot as the Roman wall was too firm to ride and with a big bergshrund at the bottom, not very inviting with a slide.  However, uphill travel was easy with the firm conditions and used splitboard crampons on the latter 2000ft before the fumeroles just to make things easier.

An excellent day.  Sorry for no TR and tagging to this one

When I skied it a few weeks back, I thought the coverage was fine. Certainly no worse than in August when we rode it. The roman wall was even corn, you just had to skirt around the big crack (it went to right or left). I guess it's pretty bad coverage compared to most years, I'm just not such an old-timer as you, Drew ;-)

Keep getting that corn harvest!

Paging Dr. Andalkar...

Yes there were lots of crevasses but easily spotted.  We did cross a few cracks which were in the process of opening which was disconcerting.  Skinned to the fumeroles and summited on foot as the Roman wall was too firm to ride.

Conditions for early March: sounds good for August
Summit:  priceless

Oof. A summer trail, plain as day, in the lower right.

author=Scole link=topic=33823.msg139830#msg139830 date=1425658997]
Oof. A summer trail, plain as day, in the lower right.


You mean top left??

Nope- lower right. See those switch backs? That's the OTHER trail (Bell Pass) that ascends up to the Park Butte area from the West.

author=haggis link=topic=33823.msg139833#msg139833 date=1425665373]
You mean top left??


How cool would it be if you could flip the mountain over and ski to the summit, then flip it back and ski to your car?  Ski:climb ratio=infinity!

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2015-03-04 19:32:45