June 1, 2019, Mt. Baker, Easton Glacier

Easton glacier turned out to be a great adventure. Drove out to the trail-head Friday evening to meet up with other members of the ski squad. Parking lot was loaded with hopefuls and a large Mountaineers group. Got a couple hours of sleep in the car and then hit the trail at 2am for a one day push to summit.

Wore trail runners for the first two miles. Creek crossing was interesting in the dark. I got wet but others were able to stay dry. Was happy to have the extra pair of socks. Once on railroad snow became consistent and we were able to transition to skins. From here the route is fairly straightforward. The sun came out and we were treated to panoramic views of Mount Baker and the surrounding North Cascades.



Crevasses were easily avoided this time of year. Took a few breaks along the way and made it to the fumarole around 10am. At this point we switched to crampons/axes.



Roman wall was a challenge and took me 1.5hr. Daniel and Evan pushed through it in <1. Gorgeous views from the top. Made some coffee and had a few celebratory summit gummies.



The sun had worked its magic on the snow as we got ready for the descent. First 2000' or so was perfect corn - then a bit of slush - and some sticky stuff down low. Nothing we couldn't handle. Walked the last 2 miles and made it back to the the cars around 4pm (12hr round trip-14 miles). Enjoyed a beer while Daniel treated us to a song on his accordion.

Beautiful day in the mountains. This was my longest/most challenging tour to date. Shoutout to Evan, Daniel, and Anthony for being fantastic partners!