[TR] Mount Baker - North Ridge, Ski descent of CD 5/18/2011

[lilmarmot]

Trip: Mount Baker - North Ridge, Ski descent of CD

 

Date: 5/18/2011

 

Trip Report:

Seeing a great looking weather window for Wednesday and Thursday, my buddy Jon and I headed for the North ridge of Baker, with the intent of climbing the route, and skiing down the coleman-deming.

We drove to about 2 miles from the TH, but with a 4x4 you could get to within about a mile...from the restrooms at the TH we headed up the grouse creek drainage, and up heliotrope. It was super hot out, but the snow stayed nice for skinning. We set camp around 7,200 feet on the western edge of the coleman.

In the morning we left camp around 7 AM, and headed across the coleman, under nice sunshine! We found the coleman to be really filled in, but there were some big gapers, kinda spooky. We opted for the left option to gain the north ridge, due to looking at the giant slope on the right looking suspicious for avy threats. We had excellent styrofoam snow for cramponing up to gain the ridge. From the crest we made quick work to the base of the ice cliff up the 60ish degree snow slopes.

Once at the ice cliff we found difficult climbing due to LARGE amounts of rime ice covering the actual glacier ice. Bring your broom! We spent a lot of time cleaning the iceand trying to find clean spots for screws. Once down to the actual glacier ice, it was super cold and hard, it took several whacks with the tool to get a decent placement... But after a bit of wallowing, we made it up the cliff, which was about 50 feet vertical on the line we took. From here we ditched the rope again and headed up the steep snow once again to the base of the seracs. After himming and hawing we opted to go left around the seracs, and found some big exposure over a gaping crevasse, so we threw on the rope and sunk a picket, that probably would not have held a fall, but we just gave each other the "don't fall here look". After this is was smooth slogging to the summit cone. We basked in the warm sun, ate lots of candy bars, snapped some photos, and strapped the boards on and sredded down the coleman deming back to the car! Overall a great day! However, carrying skis on the North Ridge, and climbing it in ski boots makes it a bit more challenging, but totally worth it for the ride down!

 

 

 

Photos to follow....for some reason I can't upload them...

 

Gear Notes:

3-4 ice screws depending on your line up the ice. 2-3 pickets if you want a running belay on the steep snow. We opted against this and went with the ol, don't fall technique.

 

Approach Notes:

head up behind the outhouses at TH....

Edited May 21, 2011 by lilmarmot

[sepultura]

Nice work, we saw you guys heading up toward the ice pitch while we were sliding up the CD

[Josh Lewis]

Nice! Man do I want to go up this route one of these days. So you say it got vertical at one point?

[lilmarmot]

yeah, it gets vertical up at the ice cliff. But you can choose a shorter line. Our line was about 50 feet, although there are some variations for shorter, or longer options. I have heard that once it gets a little warmer the ice gets nice and spongy, but we found it to be super hard and covered in rime ice!