[TR] Mt. Baker- Coleman/Deming Glacier 2/20/2005

[timmy_t]

Climb: Mt. Baker-Coleman/Deming Glacier

 

Date of Climb: 2/20/2005

 

Trip Report:

A friend and I climbed/skiied Mt. Baker via the Coleman/Deming route last weekend. The Glacier Creek Road was quite snowy and there was a snow bank blocking the road at about five miles in, with maybe five cars parked there. We decided that our Jeep was kind of like a snowmobile and so we skirted it and were able to drive to within 200 yards of the trailhead without much difficulty. Started climbing at 5am. We were in skis right from the car, and did not have to take them off until at the saddle at 9000 feet. No crevasses are open on the slope above the hogsback, although amazingly there was no snow on the hogsback ridge, and all the rock walls for the bivi sites were uncovered. The giant crevasse at 8500 feet is wide open, as are a few more at this elevation (underneath Colfax Peak), but if you stay left (downhill) the crevasses are easy to skirt. Took off skis and carried them up the Deming Glacier, which was weird ice. There was a crust that was easy to kick steps in, but the surface of the crust was packed with golf-ball sized ice chunks all the way to the top of the glacier. No wind, no cold on top at 1:30pm. I walked off the top but my friend tried to ski the icy bumps...gave up about halfway to the saddle and carried skis down. Snow was lovely to the hogsback, a bit icy to the trees. A fun February early summer ascent.