May 2-3, 2015, Heliotrope Ridge, Mt. Baker
5/2/15
WA Cascades West Slopes North (Mt Baker)
2708
3
There were lots of skiers on Mt. Baker last weekend, so I figured someone who actually took photos would do a post - but since no one has yet, here's a quick update on conditions.
Hiked in on Saturday with two other Old Antarctic Explorers and set up camp at the Hogsback. The summer trail had only patchy snow on it, so hiking shoes, or 20+ year-old Scarpa tele boots, will get you to treeline, where the continuous snow starts. We harvested some excellent corn off Heliotrope Ridge, but mainly after noon both days. In fact, we skied perfect corn on a pre-dinner run at about 6pm Sat. Sunday morning there was no hurry, as it was all hard-frozen again.
The weather was great for a summit climb, and many did head up the Coleman Glacier and Roman Wall, where it was reported to be quite icy. Despite the clear skies, it just wasn't warm enough to soften the snow above about 7,500'. Thus, our decision to not bring glacier gear and just do laps in the Heliotrope area worked out nicely. It was a great weekend for a convergence of friends from around the Pac NW.
Perhaps someone who summited can add a comment and/or photo.
Hiked in on Saturday with two other Old Antarctic Explorers and set up camp at the Hogsback. The summer trail had only patchy snow on it, so hiking shoes, or 20+ year-old Scarpa tele boots, will get you to treeline, where the continuous snow starts. We harvested some excellent corn off Heliotrope Ridge, but mainly after noon both days. In fact, we skied perfect corn on a pre-dinner run at about 6pm Sat. Sunday morning there was no hurry, as it was all hard-frozen again.
The weather was great for a summit climb, and many did head up the Coleman Glacier and Roman Wall, where it was reported to be quite icy. Despite the clear skies, it just wasn't warm enough to soften the snow above about 7,500'. Thus, our decision to not bring glacier gear and just do laps in the Heliotrope area worked out nicely. It was a great weekend for a convergence of friends from around the Pac NW.
Perhaps someone who summited can add a comment and/or photo.
Nice report! We were up there on Monday the 4th and saw lots of tracks from the weekend. We tried to beat the incoming weather to the summit, racing a lenticular we saw coming, but turned around at 9,300 in what we estimated to be 60+ mph sustained winds (telemetry shows 45mph at Baker ski resort and 72mph at Muir in the same hour.) The top was hard and variable as you said, but enjoyed great corn skiing the bottom 2k or maybe more, by which time the summit was socked in. Beautiful day up there.
Anyone have a report on the crevasse navigation situation on the Coleman? I'm thinking of heading up that way soon.
We were very impressed how cracks were opening up much more than usual even at 9000 feet; the theory that the snowpack depth up high is normal doesn't seem to result in "normal" crevasse behavior on the Coleman this May. We encountered numerous thin bridges on the upper Coleman Monday. Recommend wanding the route if there's any chance of weather/flat light moving in. We were sure glad we did.
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