JERRY_SANCHEZ

THE ROUTE IS GOOD FOR SKIING AND CLIMBING BUT BETTER FOR SKIING. I WENT UP THERE THIS PAST SUNDAY AND WENT UP SILVER STAR BASIN TO THE SUMMIT. THERE WAS PLENTY OF SNOW TO SKI ALL THE WAY BACK DOWN TO THE HIGHWAY. THE SNOW WAS POWDER AND SWEET. THE SUMMIT WAS PRETTY EASY WITHOUT REQUIRING ROPE AND HARD MOVES. JUST 3RD CLASS STUFF WITH SOME SNOW. AVALANCHE CONDITIONS SEEMED LOW AS WE DIDN'T SEE ANY SLIDES BUT THIS CAN CHANGE. IF YOU GO UP THE MAIN CLIMBING ROUTE (UP THE COL) I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT IS LIKE BUT SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM. HOPE THIS HELPS JERRY

Police identify victim of avalanche The Bellingham Herald The Everett snowmobiler killed in an avalanche on the south slope of Mount Baker Wednesday was identified as Jeff Diedrich, 31. Diedrich's name was released Thursday after the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office confirmed that his family had been notified. Diedrich was snowmobiling with three Everett-area men Wednesday when he crested a ridge in the Schrieber Meadow area near Mount Baker and may have triggered a large avalanche. His friends were far enough away to be able to avoid the slide, but one of them saw Diedrich get caught in the snow, according to Deputy Scott Huso, Whatcom County search and rescue coordinator. The three friends, along with other recreational snowmobilers in the area, began the search after the avalanche started at about 10:30 a.m. The avalanche field was about 200 yards by 600 yards, Huso said. Volunteers from the Whatcom County and Skagit County snowmobile clubs, Bellingham Mountain Rescue, and Whatcom County 4x4 Units joined the search along with a helicopter team from Whidbey Naval Air Station. Diedrich was found at about 5:30 p.m. and flown by helicopter to St. Joseph Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

SNOWY SEARCH: From a rescue truck stationed at 2,800 feet on Glacier Creek Road, Vonda Polinkus (center) of Bellingham Mountain Rescue keeps in radio contact with volunteers searching for two Whatcom County men who failed to return from a weekend climbing trip. Jay DeGroot (left) and Marv Stremler of the Whatcom County Snowmobile Club joined the search Tuesday in whiteout conditions. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEARCH: Rescue was hampered Tuesday by high winds and whiteout conditions. Paula Clawson, The Bellingham Herald GLACIER -- Two Whatcom County men who failed to return from a Mount Baker climbing trip Sunday are still missing after searchers spent all day Tuesday hiking and snowmobiling through fresh mountain snow. Farin Hess, 24, of the Everson area and John Roffler, 28, of Bellingham were expected back Sunday night, and a family member reported them missing about 7 p.m. Monday, said Deputy Scott Huso, search-and-rescue coordinator for the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office. Hess' parents said both men are experienced hikers and climbers and had proper gear for the climb. They reportedly have climbing equipment, including ice axes, snowshoes, sleeping bags and waterproof sacks, Huso said. The men signed a climber's log at the Mount Baker National Forest ranger station in Glacier and wrote that they were going to start from a trailhead on Glacier Creek Road about 6Þ miles off Mount Baker Highway. Huso found their truck parked at the trailhead late Monday night but decided not to start the search until daybreak Tuesday. "When I went up to find the truck I got stuck in the snow," he said. "The conditions were not real good, especially for going in at night." Five volunteers from Whatcom County Snowmobile Club and five volunteers from Bellingham Mountain Rescue began a search at dawn Tuesday. The sky was relatively clear in the morning and a Whidbey Island Naval Air Station helicopter flew over the area for a couple of hours. But gathering clouds forced the helicopter out of the sky by about 11 a.m. By about 1 p.m., the snowmobilers left the search because of high winds and whiteout conditions. Three Bellingham Mountain Rescue searchers on snowshoes stayed on the slopes until about 3 p.m. More volunteers were willing to join the search, but they were not used because of the weather and concern about potential avalanches, Huso said.Ground and air searches will continue today if weather permits, he said. On the chance that the two men had gone far afield from what appeared to be their intended route, the snowmobilers checked along Porter Creek off Mosquito Lake Road late Tuesday afternoon. Snowmobilers also checked Schrieber's Meadow in south Whatcom County. "I hope if it were me, or my wife or kids, someone would be looking for us," said snowmobile volunteer Marv Stremler.

SNOWY SEARCH: From a rescue truck stationed at 2,800 feet on Glacier Creek Road, Vonda Polinkus (center) of Bellingham Mountain Rescue keeps in radio contact with volunteers searching for two Whatcom County men who failed to return from a weekend climbing trip. Jay DeGroot (left) and Marv Stremler of the Whatcom County Snowmobile Club joined the search Tuesday in whiteout conditions. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEARCH: Rescue was hampered Tuesday by high winds and whiteout conditions. Paula Clawson, The Bellingham Herald GLACIER -- Two Whatcom County men who failed to return from a Mount Baker climbing trip Sunday are still missing after searchers spent all day Tuesday hiking and snowmobiling through fresh mountain snow. Farin Hess, 24, of the Everson area and John Roffler, 28, of Bellingham were expected back Sunday night, and a family member reported them missing about 7 p.m. Monday, said Deputy Scott Huso, search-and-rescue coordinator for the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office. Hess' parents said both men are experienced hikers and climbers and had proper gear for the climb. They reportedly have climbing equipment, including ice axes, snowshoes, sleeping bags and waterproof sacks, Huso said. The men signed a climber's log at the Mount Baker National Forest ranger station in Glacier and wrote that they were going to start from a trailhead on Glacier Creek Road about 6Þ miles off Mount Baker Highway. Huso found their truck parked at the trailhead late Monday night but decided not to start the search until daybreak Tuesday. "When I went up to find the truck I got stuck in the snow," he said. "The conditions were not real good, especially for going in at night." Five volunteers from Whatcom County Snowmobile Club and five volunteers from Bellingham Mountain Rescue began a search at dawn Tuesday. The sky was relatively clear in the morning and a Whidbey Island Naval Air Station helicopter flew over the area for a couple of hours. But gathering clouds forced the helicopter out of the sky by about 11 a.m. By about 1 p.m., the snowmobilers left the search because of high winds and whiteout conditions. Three Bellingham Mountain Rescue searchers on snowshoes stayed on the slopes until about 3 p.m. More volunteers were willing to join the search, but they were not used because of the weather and concern about potential avalanches, Huso said.Ground and air searches will continue today if weather permits, he said. On the chance that the two men had gone far afield from what appeared to be their intended route, the snowmobilers checked along Porter Creek off Mosquito Lake Road late Tuesday afternoon. Snowmobilers also checked Schrieber's Meadow in south Whatcom County. "I hope if it were me, or my wife or kids, someone would be looking for us," said snowmobile volunteer Marv Stremler.

Hello I want to climb/ski Mt. Baker this winter at the standard Coleman route. But I know that the road up to the trailhead is snowed in. I've heard that this road is snowmobile heaven and would it be possible to ask for a ride up to the trailhead for a fee or a case of beer. I'm not a big snowmobile fan but did anyone have ever tried it there or elsewhere where there is good climbing or skiing in the winter? How about the Cascade River Road?

I'M PLANNING ON MT. BAKER THIS SUNDAY TO SKI THE COLEMAN GLACIER. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THE CONDITIONS ARE LIKE???