Mt Baker snow condtions

[Wes_Ft_Collins_CO]

I am looking for snow conditions and route reports for the standard routes on Mt Baker: Coleman-Demming and Easton Glacier? Where does the snow start? How is the snow quality for skiing? Are many crevases present yet?

 

Thanks,

Wes

[fleblebleb]

The C-D was great skiing on Sunday May 23.

 

You can drive to the parking lot.

 

Baker got > 2 feet of fresh snow May 29-31. There is extensive discussion about this on telemarktips.com.

[ashw_justin]

Recent heavy snowfall persisted as awesome packed powder until today (Thursday) when things started to warm up and get gloppy. Until it snows again, or until this new snow has time to trasform into corn snow, I'd expect to see heavy wet snow except near the summit where it may remain cold enough to preserve the dry snow. Depending on the freezing level, the snow may crust up. In any case my advice is to take skis unless, like some people, you enjoy post-holing in slush.

 

Route-finding on the Coleman-Deming is straightforward. Crevasses are very minimal. Do not go anywhere near the Colfax icefall (on the right). Semi-truck sized chunks calved off of it today.

[JoshK]

Pfft...who *doesn't* like post-holing in slush??

[robert]

I am headed up there this weekend. Did anyone make it up there this past weekend? How are things consolidating?

[ashw_justin]

It was raining at 7000 feet on Saturday morning around sunrise. Some cold temps might generate some refreezing. It should be light rain all week so maybe this will pack down the snow.

[robert]

I hope so. I will probably bring snowshoes for insurance.

[ashw_justin]

Skis! Splitboard!

[cracked]

Actually, I would humbly suggest to take EITHER skis OR a splitboard.

[ashw_justin]

Quiet! You!

[robert]

We are headed for the North Ridge and decided that snowshoes would be better than skis. One member of our group was up on C-D on Memorial Day and said that skis would not be helpful enough to justify the added weight.

[JoshK]

Probably not more helpful on the way up, but the weight is always worth being able to ski down vs. slog down the C/D!

[Bug]

I have done both. I rue the day I bought snowshoes.

[JoshK]

My only beef with skis is it does take some amount of skill to climb steep technical terrain without hitting the fucking tips on the slope above. It's scary to move up to another placement and get bounced back by the skis.

[ashw_justin]

We are headed for the North Ridge and decided that snowshoes would be better than skis. One member of our group was up on C-D on Memorial Day and said that skis would not be helpful enough to justify the added weight.

 

Well we did the traverse over to the North Ridge last week and there's no way I'm doing it again in soft snow unless I can skin! Yeah, we had slowshoes. But I'm a recently-converted splitboard-snob so don't listen to me...

 

We also camped at the high camp and were able to pull off a high traverse right next to the base of the Roman Nose. I think it saved some time, although I think we only camped at high camp because we did the alternative approach from the parking lot.

[Bug]

My only beef with skis is it does take some amount of skill to climb steep technical terrain without hitting the fucking tips on the slope above. It's scary to move up to another placement and get bounced back by the skis.

As with all else worth doing, practice, practice, practice....

[robert]

My only beef with skis is it does take some amount of skill to climb steep technical terrain without hitting the fucking tips on the slope above. It's scary to move up to another placement and get bounced back by the skis.

 

That is exactly it. I don't want to climb the ice with skis on my back. That means that they would stay at high camp and I would still have to slog the C-D.

[ashw_justin]

Well I guess I'm just not convinced that having skis on my back would prevent me from climbing the ice. Especially if we actually looked around for the easy way up...