This year has been all about Mount Baker. Less than an hour and half away and in sight from my backyard, Mt Baker offers a continuous way to train and maintain a high level of mountaineering fitness. The lone tent on the summit during my solo attempt a few weeks ago intrigued me enough to create the perfect weekend challenge, a direct climb and overnight camp on the summit.
I packed my gear for another solo attempt but decided due to the recent Cascades snowfall, a solo would be to close to the edge. I needed to leave before noon in order to climb and set camp on the summit before nightfall, which my GPS confirmed a 7:22 pm sunset. Unfortunately, my climbing partner was
not able to leave until mid afternoon so it was decided to direct climb from the trailhead as I did earlier in the summer. We arrived at the trailhead at 2:30 am estimating we would reached the summit rim sometime before 9 am comparing to my 5 hour climb weeks earlier, but for some reason I did not think back to the 8 hours it took earlier in the year on the same Schreiber's Meadows/Easton Route.As the horizon hinted the coming morning, we arrived at the "highest" high
camp at 7000 feet. It was evident the snow was deep as we stepped onto the glacier and there were no signs that any other climbing parties were making a attempt this morning. As Mt Baker awoke in the morning light, we clearly saw the transformation that has taken place as the year moves into the twighlight months. The crevasses were larger, deeper, and covered with the recent snow fall.Nearing 9:30 am, we approached 9000 feet and the sun was quickly softening the deep snow. As I crossed a narrow snow bridge between two deep crevasses, the snow was hinting it's dangerous conditions. Also, the south face of Mount Baker is a 500 feet high with a 4o° grade headwall directly above a Bergschrund making any slip a fast ride to the dark depths below. The snow pack loading
confirmed my concern and I decided to "spin" as we can always climb another day. It's always a tough decision to turn around but this is the first time I can remember "spinning" on a perfect day due my climbing intuition. Moments after turning around, I heard a large crack and a huge volley of snow was released off the adjacent Black Buttes. Instincts and experience are important in the mountains, but following them is most even more critical.As we trekked through Schreiber's Meadows with Mt Baker intensely white in view, we knew we could have summited with remarkable views on such a perfect day, but I sensed a different satisfaction from previous climbs. By listening to mountain, I felt satisfied that the right decision is always to trust your instincts.
Mt Baker Solo Climb 10,781' via Coleman Deming Glacier September 14th It was a beautiful weekend in the Pacific Northwest and I decided to climb Mount Rainier. According to Rainier’s climbing blog, the route was in perfect condition, however I could not rally a partner in time and to do it solo required an advanced permit that I did not have. Therefore, I turned my eyes to the north and Mount Baker once again.
I left my house at 1 a.m. and arrived at the Heliotrope Ridge Trail around 3 am with a goal to reach the summit at 9 am. I climbed through lower trail deep in the night and neared the upper slopes of the Coleman Glacier as the eastern sky faintly glowed with the coming day. From that vantage, I saw in the distance an avalanche that rested only 20 yards from the route, recently fallen off the Black Buttes cliffs. As I continued my solo climb, my senses remained on high alert aware of other potential dangers. The crevasses were deep and frequent but 
easily traversed. I climbed to the 9000 feet saddle 4 minutes before my checkpoint time that I calculated as I left the trailhead. It was 6:56 a.m. and the sky with remarkable. From there, the narrow path leads up the rocky cliff band to a point where it meets the Deming Glacier. The remaining route to the summit rim is a steep, exposed climb that requires extreme care. I reached the crater rim exactly at 8 am for a five hour climb from the trailhead. The summit was mine alone with the exception of a lone tent on the broad summit of Mount Baker. I hiked over to the summit and into a remarkable view of the North Cascades. I was surprised that I had not passed any one on my way up being most climbers leave for the summit at 1 a.m. I shrugged off the solitude and counted my blessings to what I had. 
As I started my climb down I decided to traverse the south face for better purchase of my crampons over the icy slopes on the Roman Wall. Once I arrived back on the rock band, I could see below a number of climbing teams working their way up the mountain. As I continued down, the climbers keep coming with most carrying their skis n hope the sun would soften the icy slopes. I arrive back at the trailhead just after noon
Climbing solo requires additional concentration due to the mountain conditions, but I found that it also gives you another level of flexibility and self determination. Many of the climbers and skiers I chatted with on the way down noted the lone headlamp high on the mountain as they climbed out of the tents in the morning. This gave me a sense of pride I realized later that to others, it seems too much of a risk. I am currently reading Ed Viester's book "No Shortcuts to the Top" which is about Endeavor 8000 and what started ProjectEarth360 for me personally. I thought a lot of that book as I climbed this morning and as all mountaineers say, “If you are asked why you climb, then it cannot be explained”. I truly love the mountains and the lifestyle that allows me to experience them as I do. I am truly blessed.Mt Baker 10,781' via Coleman Deming Glacier July 26/27th
We climbed to Hogsback high camp in
partly sunny conditions hoping the 30% chance of rain would stay in check, but we were not that fortunate. We made camp, ate dinner, and crawled into our tents as the rain began.We woke a little after 1am and stepped onto the glacier at 2:30 am. The weather seemed promising from the start and we traversed the first hill to catch up to a party of 12 from Western Washington University. The one thing I treasure on the mountain is the headlamps of climbers in the darkness finding their way through the night. If you've never experienced this moment, you can only understand by experience.
The weather changed as morning arrived with light rain and grey skies. Close to a white out, we made our way up the mountain to the saddle at 9000ft without any danger except the distance crevasses. This time last year, it was a different story with a
change of winter snowfall from 583ft in the 06/07. Mount Baker holds the world record for the most snow in one year with a reported 1,140 inches of snowfall for the 1998-99 season.Once on the rocky ridge, we ascended to 9900ft and jumped onto the Deming Glacier that would take us the rest of the way to the summit. With little wind, the snow conditions were good, but still no visibility except for the grey blankness all around us. We continued the final steep push to the crater rim at a elevation of 10,571ft. From there, the wind increased and boot tracks lead to the east. I usually have my GPS which provides marks from previous summit bids that would have been helpful here, but there was no luck in finding the small knoll that holds the summit register on the football size field as most parties were in the same situation. Having been on the summit numerous times and with 3 climbers pm their first attempt, I took a pole and all felt, righteously so, the summit was reached. (I checked on
Google Earth and it actually shows the summit crater at 10,785ft verses the register at 10,781ft. Snow pack in winter?)We climbed down to 8500 ft on the Coleman Glacier near the Black Buttes as we spotted in the distance this little squirrel that zigged it's way toward us. Surprisingly he continued to me at the head of the rope and paused at 3 feet on his hind legs. As started to reached in my pocket looking for scraps from a Cliff bar, and this little guy decided that I was the meal. He jumped my leg, scurried up, and started attacking me. I brushed him off and he scampered back to where he came never to be seen again.
The rest of my team couldn't stopped laughing as I thought about how particular that little squirrel was either far from home or mad we disturbed his territory.We continued on in the fog and finally arrived at camp where the deep clouds made finding camp difficult. After a 20 minute search we found our camp, packed up in the pouring rain and made out way to the trail head.
Mt Baker 10,781' (Direct from Schreibers Meadows to Summit) July 19/20th
We left trail head at Schreibers Meadows elev 3300 ft at 8:30 pm for a direct ascent of the summit. The evening was beautiful and as we ascended the railroad grade, the sun fell behind the western horizon. As we climbed through the high camps of other parties, it was evident that most climbers were trying to sleep in anticipation of the coming mornings climb. We stopped near 7000 ft to "rope up" and trading our treking poles for crampons and ice axes.
The night was remarkable and I have never experienced such a peaceful night on any glacier. The snow was perfect, the air was cool, the moon was full, the wind was calm; what a beautiful night to experience the mountain. We climbed via the Easton Glacier with frequent stops to marvel our surroundings as the entire mountain glowed from the moons reflection and only one word can describe this night, HARMONY. I actually climbed most of the way in my long sleeve t-shirt!
As we approached the lower crater rim, we could see the Christmas lights of climber's headlamp far below making their way out of high camp. We crested the summit ridge and traversed 15 minutes to the true summit. The eastern sky
offered a faint hint of the coming morning and we signed the register and dug in above a 1000 ft cliff to watch the Sunday morning sunrise. It was colder now with a slight westerly wind, but nothing a down jacket couldn't cure. After 45 minutes I must have fallen asleep (I was told I was snoring) when we were awaken by the second summit party of the day. We inquired the time because neither of us had a watch, and calculated our arrival on the summit sometime before 4 am.The hidden landscape brighten as the sky filled with the light, but
still no sun above the horizon. We decided that it was time to move on so we dusted off the snow and made our way down the mountain. Interesting was that most parties working their way up the mountain inquired of our midnight climb because while we were looking at them far below, they were looking at us far above. Many said we were lucky to be going down as they we going up and all I knew is this night climb is the reason why I climb. We arrived back at the car at 10 am and made a mad dash for a tall cup of dark northwest coffee.----------------------
Mt Baker 10,781 ft
This summit attempt was the standard north route via the Coleman-Deming glacier, a.k.a Heliotrope Ridge route. As soon as we stepped from the car, the rain started and continued to fall lightly the entire way to high camp near the Coleman Glacier's icefall at 5600 feet. As night approached, the rain let up briefly and gave us hope for a clear summit attempt. At 2:00 am we awoke in the pouring rain, made breakfast, prepared our gear, roped up, and made our way up the the 35 deg slope.
We continued climbing on the Coleman glacier until when we took our first break, under "Black Buttes" near 7200 feet. Even though the rain stopped, the visibility was near zero requiring GPS navigation in a heading of southeast toward the col. We encountered numerous climbing parties as we climbed and all advised of a impassable crevasse at 8800 feet; however we choose to check it out first hand. As we approached the upper section of Coleman Glacier, the mountain offered hints that the weather would break, exposing the massive rock face we were climbing toward. Nearing 8600 feet, we learned from another climbing group that there was a small snow bridge on the crevasse's far east side directly below the cliff wall that no party today ventured across.
The 2' wide snow bridge spanned the enormous crevasse visible on both sides, similar to walking on railroad tracks as a kid. If there was ever a place to belay the climber, this was it as we as a extra precaution set up fixed anchors. Once across, we took a short break as the snow began to fall then continued toward the col (saddle) between Mount Baker and Colfax Peak at 9000 feet. Once on the col, we climbed the rocky crest above Deming Glacier to the base of the Roman Wall, which is the last obstacle on the way to Mount Baker's 10,778-foot summit. The Roman Wall is nearly 1000 feet of 35-45 degree snow and ice that rolls over onto the summit ice cap of Mount Baker. It was at this point on the icy slope that the sleet turned dangerous and froze everything we touched. Now above the same cliff wall near the snow bridge, we knew the risk and the difficulty of stopping ourselves if required. It was this moment that we choose to "spin" to insure of our safety back to camp. We carefully turned the party around, down climbed to the col, belayed over the snow bridge, and traversed back to high camp all in a white out blizzard. We quickly broke camp, climbed back to the trailhead, and drove out to the main road, this the the view we took. I've seen the weather turn for the worse, and I've seen the weather turn for the better. Well, you can always climb another day.
Mt Baker 10,781 ft 20076
Mt Baker is the perfect mountain for the weekend mountaineer. From Schreibers Meadows, it only takes a few hours to get the high camp and high country.
We arrived at High Camp via Railroad Grade around 5 pm and made camp. After dinner, we laid down for the night with intent of leaving for the summit at 1am but somehow, we slept until 6am. We got out up quickly, grabbed a bit to eat, and set off for the summit. The great thing about a team of two is the speed at which we climb. We went directly through the crevasse fields and caught up at 8600 ft with the climbing teams that leave in the middle of the night. We continued on, leaned over the thermo vents, and made the summit before noon.
2005
Mt Baker - Summit
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