12-28 Mt Baker - Herman Saddle

Thought we'd take advantage of the new snowfall up at Baker.  Wasn't sure what would be good so headed up to towards the Saddle or maybe Mazama bowl.  The trek out was promising...breaking fresh tracks the whole way...a good 10-12" of fresh.  It also made for easy climbing.  We made it most of the way, to about 5250', but noticed it was quite a bit windier up higher and the snow was becoming reactive on steep convex slopes, and we set off several small "slough" avalanches.

Stopped in a safe place and dug a 6' pit to check things out (South facing 30 degree slope).  We easily confirmed that the top layer (about 12" of fresh) was very reactive, but the layers underneath were pretty bullet proof.  And I didn't notice any hoar layers at that depth.

Thinking the wind would have created deeper slabs high up (and generally be less pleasant), we made our way down.  The snow was lovely, but unfortunately, visibility was very low and the light so flat you couldn't see any contours...so it was a bit of blind skiing.

On the way back, we did a lap on the Blueberries for laughs, but still managed to trigger another big slough.

Still, met some nice folks out there and had a lovely hike.  The sloughs weren't much to worry about, but I'd stick to something like the Swift Creek basin if you're planning on heading out.  More sheltered, better contour / vis with the trees, and probably more stable.