Nov 16, 2018, Mt. Baker, Heliotrope Ridge Ice

We had hoped the precip yesterday fell as snow on the mountain, but apparently it was warm up as high as Heliotrope, then froze overnight. An early riser passed us on his way down with a dire report of an impenetrable water ice crust. I was ready to turn around there, but my partner insisted on getting some exercise (and justifying the long drive) so we carried skis to the top of The Hogsback where we stopped for a snack and turned around. Sure glad for the micro-spikes both up and down. Many others continued up with skis, so perhaps someone will add more info on the actual skiing, but for a couple of old guys looking forward to the rest of the season, it didn't look like much fun.