June 7, 2003, Mt. Baker Squak Glacier Ski Descent

Woke up at 1:30 am. Jump in the Saab and race to the trailhead to meet Ross, Steve and Pete by 3. Hiking by 3:30. Six hours later, Ross and I tag the summit, and call friends to torment them for bailing out while Steve waits on top the dome. Pete, who has hefted an overnight pack to the top arrives a short while later. After a 45 minute wait we deem the Roman Wall ideal for skiing and take off. Perfect conditions down, one to two inches of soft stuff on a uniform surface. The rest of the descent was not to bad, a little gooey in places but not as bad as expected. No rope, crampons or ice axes were needed. Steve added a little but of humor at the creek crossing by dropping his new ski in the creek. Ross, using his kayaking experience figured out the correct point in the creek where the ski was.
Discovered that the lower terminus of the Easton was trashed by the snowmobilers. Parts, many beer cans, tools, duct tape etc. were observed frequently. I worked on the southside of Baker in the '80's as a guide and I never saw trash on the mountain then. Is there a new breed of snowmobiler slob out there? If you go there and observe this scene be sure to let the Mt. Baker office in Sedro Wooley know about it. They also ran over many small trees in the meadow. You can see their handiwork by noting all the broken tops. This really outrageos me to see.>:(
After nearly 30 ascents of Baker for pay, it was fun to finally ski the old gal with good guys in wonderful conditions for fun. It was also amusing to see more skiers on top than climbers!