Baker seracs this weekend

[daveheinbach]

I was talking with Justin_RR about heading up maybe for a day Saturday, and was wondering if anybody else would be interested. Last time I was there we swapped short leads with a 8.1 half rope folded in half and it worked great. It was way more fun that just TR'ing.

[Billygoat]

possibly, working on a trip as we speak...

[daveheinbach]

Let's keep talking as the week progresses, eh?

[Billygoat]

allrighty then....

[RocNoggin]

if you dont mind my asking where/which Baker seracs are you planning on climbing? I am unfamiliar with them, how hard are the climbs?

[Billygoat]

The ones at the toe of the Coleman. I have'nt tried them yet so don't know heights but fro what I've read, they seem to be up to 30 meters.

 

there are several threads on this, do a search

 

If the avy level is considerable + then we will go there this w/e. If not, then either Hannegan/Ruth or around Shuksan.

[Dustin_B]

they may all be filled in buy now, or at least the ice may be covered.

[Billygoat]

Tru that, the freezing levels have been low and it has been snowing

 

I'm up for a look see and decide what seems like a fun option on the spot

[RocNoggin]

a little over 2' of snow this week at the Baker Ski Area. thats at about 4-5,000' elevation. what is the elevation at the seracs, or thereabouts? they will likely have lots of new snow on them. bring your skis with you and if there is too much snow for the ice climbing then it should be great for the skiing! :-)

[daveheinbach]

The NWAC forecast is calling for Considerable danger above 4-5k, Moderate below. I think the seracs are at about 4-5k. As I remember, getting to the seracs didn't involve crossing avalance terrain, but I may be mistaken. The seracs are big enough to place 3-4-5-6 screws depending on pucker factor, so I figure a few feet of snow won't change things too much. Good call on the skis though. It could give me a chance to try out the split board as an approach tool.

[CoryNeffC]

Snow at 500'..take snowshoes.. I was on the trails last week and some of the trail was under 4 feet of soft snow.. good luck

Edited December 1, 2005 by CoryNeffC

[OlympicMtnBoy]

Need one more? I have some new tools to try out. Can I tag along?

- OMB

[RocNoggin]

to get to the seracs do you start with the trail to Heliotroupe Ridge? even if it isnt the same TH do you know if the road to the Heliotroupe Ridge TH is plowed?

[Billygoat]

The road isn't plowed. I was up there on the 17th and could only get up six miles from hwy 542, the trailhead for heliotrope ridge is at 8 miles. It is an easy ski up especially since the bilers are always packing it down good.

 

OMB, I would be into hooking up but we (Blake and I) are just taking all of our gear and seeing what conditions present. I'm not sure what to expect or where we might end up (Grahms bar in a drunken stupor...?!) PM me for a phone number.

 

Yeah , heliotrope and a path (hahaha) leads off to the left as you come out of the woods. Basically, this time of year, grab the topo and look for the toe of the coleman.

[Blake]

Billy, can't you just find us somewhere with perfect powder for downill runs, a nice place to camp out, some fun ice to climb, views, and No Avy Danger? shouldn't be too hard.

P.S. if all our plans go to hell, I can't even join you in the bar!

[CoryNeffC]

When I was up there they had groomers out.. Grooming the FR for the snowmobiles.. so I assume all the FR are the same. if there is snow on them then they groom them but not clear them.. .. when in doubt plan for the long hike..plan an extra day.. for new snow

[Billygoat]

We can ski it pretty fast.

 

We could prolly get a tow if need be...

 

that's what I had in mind Blake

 

Easy, fun tour approach

great snow caving

yo yo powder

some ice

great views

bar close by

 

what else do you need...Anabelle Bond

 

 

 

There was some detailed approach beta on some recent (last two months) threads for those of you willing to explore the "Search" function

[daveheinbach]

Sounds like the snow will be even lower than on the 17th, so the idea of finding a direct xc route to the toe sounds appealing. When on the glacier last time I noticed we were above a significant rollover; it would be sweet to kind of contour right to the seracs, eh?

 

I'm gonna call Justin_RR and get a ride with him Saturday AM. He has snowshoes and I splitboard. Sounds like if nothing else it'll be a good day for testing the split as an ice-approach system. What time are people thinking about being up there?

[Blake]

Billy and I are leaving Bellingham arond 9am i think

[daveheinbach]

Justin doesn't want to walk that far, and I can't blame hime because snowshoes suck. So he's brewing up another plan. You guys have fun; I look forward to hearing about the adventure.

[Billygoat]

You can rent touring skis pretty cheap from Glacier ski shop. User friendly and fast...

[daveheinbach]

I wish I would have read that post before we headed out! We tried for some ice in leavenworth and got shut down... too thin! But we got plenty of exercise digging the car out

[Billygoat]

We had a great time, But we didn't go seracing. The powder conditions were too good so we went noodle farming instead.

 

We drove up Glacier Creek Road 5 miles on packed powder (4WD + traction tires) and could have drove the whole way to the trailhead at 8 miles as the 'bilers packed the whole thing down good. There was a fairly decent skin track through the woods and we made it to tree line in 3 1/2 hours from the truck. We made a snow trench and camped out in our bivy sacks. Brrrrrr. It must have got down to the low teens. Next day it never seemed to get above lower 20's. great blower pow to play in

 

We skied back to the truck from camp in 1 1/2 hours.

 

 

Conditions on Sunday Dec 4 2005. There is plenty of blue ice showing