[TR] Mt. Baring- NW ridge 3/10/2004

[Alpine_Tom]

Climb: Mt. Baring-NW ridge

 

Date of Climb: 3/10/2004

 

Trip Report:

I'm glad I summitted, because I wouldn't want to look forward to that climb again.

The approach isn't much fun; the climb isn't much fun at all until the last hour or so. HW2 to Baring, take FS road 6024 up to the Barclay Creek trailhead. I had to walk the last mile or so. You follow the fire road (the barclay creek trail descends to the left) about 100 yards, past an obvious snow gully, to the correct stream with the boot trail. There's a 2-foot high cairn in the middle of the road.

It took about an hour to get to the top of the ridge, and quite a while longer to slog along the ridge. I left the car around 10:40, and didn't get to the gully top Fred mentions (where you can actually see the rest of the climb) until about 2:30. From here on, it got much more scenic.

Took another hour to snowshoe down into the bowl, up to the notch, and up to the summit. Then, reversed my tracks with all deliberate speed, to get to the road before dark (I barely made it!)

If you do this climb (and I don't particularly recommend it) get an early start. When you gain the ridge, mark it for your return; there are two trees with blazes on them, one pretty fresh, but had I not been able to follow my footprints, I'd have missed it.

This time of year, Fred's directions are far more useful than the route description in Peggy Goldman's "75 Scrambles" book.

 

 

Gear Notes:

snowshoes, ski poles, crampons. Should of had an ice axe for descending from the summit.

 

Approach Notes:

Road blocked with snow the last mile or so. A 4x4 could probably get through.

[Juan]

Tom:

 

Two questions: Did you take the dog, and are you still unemployed?

 

Way to go on this beautiful day.

 

Sharp

[leejams]

Nice tom, glad ya had a good day to get out.

[Bug]

North Cascades? More like Alpine Lakes. Nice TR. I did that several years ago. Getting to the top of the ridge was wet mossy slab interspersed with steep sloping pine needles. The summit is nice though and it is a great workout. I consider it a classic NW climb. It has a barely descernable trail, bushwhacking, Mossy slab, brush aid, route finding by dead reckoning, a breakout to a view, one nice easy snowfield and a stellar summit view.

I took a quick jaunt up to Lk Serene and ate lunch. I had to be back by 3:00 to pick up the kids.

[Bronco]

Nice TR Tom!

 

Bug, Mt Baring sits NORTH of HWY 2 so it's properly placed in the North Cascades Forum.

 

I think you can easily do the trip in 5-6 hours car to car in late season. However, I also went up there once in April and glissaded down one of the creek beds from the top of the ridge to the road. They were scoured out from spring avalanches. Pretty fun jumping the occasional moat over open water.

[Alpine_Tom]

North Cascades? More like Alpine Lakes.

Well, that's what I thought too, but the forum says "all Cascade peaks North of Steven's Pass" and Baring is north of the highway, so...

 

Juan -- no dog (she's just a terrier, for God's sake!) and no job.

Edited March 11, 2004 by Alpine_Tom

[JoshK]

Nice Tom. Way to get out there in the sun and make the rest of us jealous.

[Bug]

Bug is a dork. Bug is a dork. So INdex in in the North Cascades too? Now I'm lost.

[JoshK]

Well, I guess it's how you look at it. I'd consider everything in WA in the north cascades compared to the hillz of oregon. Traditionally, I've always thought of snoq pass north as the N cascades. That is where the abrupt change in terrain happens.

[Alpine_Tom]

Well, Index is on the SOUTH side of the highway. Therefore, it's in the Alpine Lakes, rather than the North Cascades. Duh.

[Bug]

OK. OK. So North Index is on the south side of the highway and it is not in the North Cascades but Index is?

[chucK]

Index the mountain is in the Alpine Lakes

Index Town Wall is in the NEW ROCK CLIMBING FORUM

[Alpine_Tom]

There ought to be Red, Green, and Brown forums (fora?) to correspond to the CAG volumes, to simplify things. It always bugs me when people discuss stuff like Pilchuck or Glacier Peak in the N Cascades forum.

[Mtguide]

Pargeter's pictorial relief maps has the Alpine Lakes on his North CENTRAL Cascades map,and Beckey's CAG refers to it as 'North Central Cascades(West side)'.Beckey also has Glacier Peak in CAG #2,and,man,if it's not in the N.Cascades,I'd like to know where it is.Pretty much right smack in the middle of everything,I'd say.For sure,Pilchuck is just kind of a foothill,but you can't say that about Glacier.

 

[Alpine_Tom]

Yeah, it's hard to think of things around Boston Basin as NOT being in the N. Cascades, despite where they end up in CAG. I guess every distinction is more or less arbitrary.

But I maintain, and I maintain strongly, that Baring does NOT belong in the "oregon cascades" forum. Ban me if you want.

[To_The_Top]

You've been very bad Tom.

[Mtguide]

I'm completely agreeing with you there,definitely not in the Oregon Cascades,no way.In fact,I agreed with your first post about whatever's N. of the highway. Hm, did I miss something there?

[Alpine_Tom]

I'm completely agreeing with you there,definitely not in the Oregon Cascades,no way.In fact,I agreed with your first post about whatever's N. of the highway. Hm, did I miss something there?

 

Um, it was a joke, son.