May 13, Mt. Baker, North Ridge, CD
5/13/16
WA Cascades West Slopes North (Mt Baker)
2163
0
Climbed Baker's North Ridge and skied the Coleman-Deming on Friday. Shoes on from the car to a clean transition to snow coverage where the forest ends below Hogback.
The Coleman is opening up quickly. Route finding and travel are still easy, but lots of big cracks are beginning to show. Once on the ridge we climbed just left of the prow of the ice step in two pitches. Route was well hacked-in from two or three parties already that day, likely more before. Ice and dry packed snow on upper portion of ridge. Reached summit in mild temps and calm to moderate S wind around the same time as three other parties.
Roman Wall had great smooth-fast corn conditions, snow on Coleman was sticky. Really impressive ice towers and seracs on Colfax. The west-facing "Roman Mustache" ice cliff also looks like its been quite active; it recently released a bus-sized ice boulder that rolled down to the ~7,000' level on the Coleman.
The Coleman is opening up quickly. Route finding and travel are still easy, but lots of big cracks are beginning to show. Once on the ridge we climbed just left of the prow of the ice step in two pitches. Route was well hacked-in from two or three parties already that day, likely more before. Ice and dry packed snow on upper portion of ridge. Reached summit in mild temps and calm to moderate S wind around the same time as three other parties.
Roman Wall had great smooth-fast corn conditions, snow on Coleman was sticky. Really impressive ice towers and seracs on Colfax. The west-facing "Roman Mustache" ice cliff also looks like its been quite active; it recently released a bus-sized ice boulder that rolled down to the ~7,000' level on the Coleman.
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