May 23-24, 2003, Mt. Baker (Coleman Route)

Drove to last bridge before TH Friday night. Put on skis at 3900'. Ascended Grouse Cr. drainage under what looked like improving skies. Snow is melting fast in the avalanche run-out zone down low in this drainage. (one de-ski necessary above the swamp.) Used the left gully to access Lower Heliotrope Ridge, and set up camp just above the last trees,(6300') while a nice sunset lit up Puget Sound around Lummi and Orcas Islands. Hit the Whiskey and Melted Water, all the while wondering what the weather had in store...Wind whipped in bursts all night, and woke up at 4am to see the summit cloud cap hadn't risen any. Contemplated our options and decided to give it a try, hoping for improving weather. Left at 6am and ascended to the reaches of upper Heliotrope Ridge among the rock spires and notches. Cool Formations and views through the notches of Lincoln Peak, Thunder Glacier, and Sisters Range. Here, we merged onto the "cattle path", where there were three other skiers (no glacier gear). Kept on past the Seracs and Black Buttes on the right and crevasses on the left, where some nice views of the Cheam Range and Baker area peaks kept our cameras busy....Then we hit the cloud/fog layer. Still we climbed, and it got thicker...No more "cattle trench" up here now, though, which made route "finding" difficult. Passed over a partially opened crevasse on a steeper slope, which gave us a clue that we were to veer left and avoid the upper Serac set that is just below the Coleman/Deming saddle. At this point 8900', we decided to stop. Wind through the saddle was gusting strong and we couldn't see anything (30' visability) Skied down the Coleman by Braille in mush, and then the broad slopes below upper Heliotrope, which were more towards corn snow and nice for skiing. Loaded up camp and skied the best snow of the day from 6300-3900. Corn snow and nice pitched faces of the Grouse Cr./Marmot Ridge area. Took off skis at the swamp, and walked 15 min. to the truck...