[TR] Mt. Baker - North Ridge 8/27/2011

[bgratias]

Trip: Mt. Baker - North Ridge

 

Date: 8/27/2011

 

Trip Report:

We climbed Baker's North Ridge this Saturday and found pretty good conditions.

 

 

The trickiest part of the climb was finding a way onto the glacier and then across the glacier to the apron. We were turned around 5 or 6 times by pesky dead ending crevasses. We started in the dark, so that probably didn't help. It seemed like the best way to go was to drop onto the glacier from higher up, and then to stay low until directly below the left side of the apron.

 

Lost in the Dark

 

Another Dead End

 

The left side of the apron was still easily passable, and the slope was in pretty good shape. We traversed the rock band to the left of the apron to the middle snow finger in order to get away from rock-fall (though it didn't seem too bad that morning.)

 

The ice step was in great shape, and was about 2 pitches long. We climbed it just around the ridge on the left side. It took screws well all the way up. We stayed well left of the ridge and encountered a couple vertical moves at the top, but I think we could have avoided these by moving right, over the ridge, a bit sooner.

 

Lower Ice Step

 

Left Side of the Ridge

 

Ryan approaching the short vertical section

 

On top

 

Above the ice step there were more crevasses, but we kept trending left and had no problems.

 

Climbing above the ice step (this would take screws too)

 

A steep section on the upper snow fields

 

An fascinating wave shaped serac

 

Wildflowers on the way out!

 

Gear Notes:

6 screws

 

Approach Notes:

Scope out a way across the glacier the night before.

[Josh Lewis]

Thanks for the beta, was considering it this weekend.

[DPS]

Hey Josh,

 

The date of this TR is from a month and a half ago. I would expect the approach to be much more difficult right now.

 

DPS

[G-spotter]

There's more than a foot of fresh up there right now. It could be quite a wallow.

[Josh Lewis]

Ewwww.... Thanks for the warning! I'll have to figure out how I want to go about my trip. Worse case scenario I could go for the Coleman Deming route.

[G-spotter]

Look out for very thinly bridged crevasses too. There's just enough up high to make them concealed. You could probably find some great seracing conditions on the snout of the Coleman though.

[t_rutl]

Nice pics of a great route.