[TR] Mt. Baker - Park-Boulder Cleaver to Park Headwall 5/10/2012

[SmilingWhiteKnuckles]

Trip: Mt. Baker - Park-Boulder Cleaver to Park Headwall

 

Date: 4/28-29/12

 

Trip Report:

 

It's easy to sit in an office chair and imagine you could summit Mt. Baker in a day if you wanted. Especially if you're reading skisickness.com and certain feats in the *freshiezone* for beta and inspirit. Fortunately, we had planned two.

 

We found the route a superb spring ski mountaineering objective as billed (Sky Sjue), especially given the forecast which was calm but mixed, calling for 30% chance of precip and partial sunshine. The route was not notably technical, but it was a big meal that left us very satisfied. And not without trials that one can expect in any high mountain Cascade foray.

 

The approach from trailhead (2700') to the saddle on the Boulder Ridge (~3520') and the final deproach from the saddle to car delivered a firm-handed smack smack which left a rosy sting on the cheeks and worse on the feet. Alas, we had no detailed map of this early section.

 

Saturday was a huge day and way bigger than anticipated, due partially to having to start at 2000' and a couple miles by road below the trailhead, but mostly to the first smack in the woods trying to follow "the trail" (ie. buried in snow) to the saddle. Eventually though the saddle was reached with the first smack costing us an hour or two extra and a lot of sweat. From thereon, the way was straightforward, up and along the amazing Boulder Ridge.

 

Once we got up to the treeline, only the lower mountain was visible below the cloud ceiling. Ahead to the left, we could see a massive dirty icefall low on the Boulder Glacier and ahead on the right, we saw the icefall at the toe of the Park Glacier looming large over the Park Cliffs. Immediately to the right, the ridge fell off steeply or in cliffs with huge relief down to the valley below. Pretty awesome. the skiing was easy and we were stoked.

 

 

Around 6200', we headed into the whiteout and Gi lead us on a NW-WNW aspect by GPS to the base of the Boulder-Park Cleaver and our camp for the night at 6800'. We arrived pounded, but the perfect cocktail of pain relievers, medicinal herbs, whiskey, food, and a lot of water set us up right and made the next big day possible.

 

Took us awhile to set up the Hilleberg. It was somewhere amorphously between snow and rain, lightly, but enough to weigh the outer tent down to touch the inner. Definitely forgot to bring some extra guylines for the tent. We salvaged this and that string to pull the tent tight. The plastic bags we brought worked great as ultralight deadman in the snow and these anchored out the guylines. It was good work and we were glad for it--securing the shelter for come what may.

 

 

The next morning, the alarm went off at 3:30am, but with a light patter on the tent and muttered invectives, I reset it. 15 minutes later though we got it going. Got dressed and out of the tent with a brew up of oatmeal and coffee as we packed up with steady wet snow falling. It was still calm and we left came about 5:15am.

 

It was a hard skin in the clouds. The snow was slippery and hard underneath the first couple inches. We zig zagged up the cleaver only putting the skis on packs at the base of a steeper slope up through some rocks. And it was about here, that we started to break through the clouds and we all became very elated. Sherman Peak presided on our left with the Park Headwall and summit block dead ahead. Absolutely gorgeous.

 

At our next stop just above the top of the cleaver, we stripped the skins and buried them deep in the pack, put on harnesses and crampons. Any crevasses here were well filled in and we climbed up to just below the schrund before roping up to cross it (it seemed a bit higher in elevation than I'd read…).

 

 

With Gi leading, soon we were across the gap and skirting below and to the right of the rocks on the left side of the headwall. The angle was a steady 40 degrees I'm guessing and the views were phenomenal across the headwall, over huge cracks below the headwall, and onto the Cockscomb and Ptarmigan Ridge.

 

Giora kept a relentless pace (reminded me of Eric8 Gratz climbing Big Four!) and it was all I could do to keep the rope from going completely taught. Pretty sure, Jeremy, in the middle, felt the same way.

 

Soon we crested the ridge and were on top at 10:45am pretty stoked about the timing. Bluebird! The summit was encased in wild, low-growing rime formations like little fingers pointing into the wind. Shuksans summit block only poked out of the clouds and we were ecstatic about our route choice. We sat just south of the summit out of the wind and fueled up for a while watching the gases pour out of a large vent hole in the saddle between Grant and Sherman peaks and lower down from a huge crevasse. You could smell the sulphur.

 

 

About 11:30am we started our ski down. Perched atop the headwall looking down at the staircase we made up was quite a view, exhilarating. We dropped off the edge one by one and just below the top set off some minor sloughs of the top few inches. With no particular slab effect going on, we ripped it one at a time. The pitch was steep and fun, the snow was great.

 

 

 

 

After hooking right below the rocks and clearing the schrund, we stopped to look at our tracks down the wall and gander a bit at the majesty of the scene. It was difficult to take in the scale. That said, we made it back down to our camp pretty quickly. Re-entering the cloud layer, the snow changed immediately to grabby mashed potatoes and one had to turn in slow motion keeping the planks pointed downhill.

 

We broke camp in a sunlit whiteout. We were in short sleeves and snow was falling somehow. Super weird, but we were laughing and exhilarated. We high tailed it down as Gi had to make it home by 7. How strange to move from a bluebird day high on the mountain into gray northwest light rain. We skirted the 3rd class section on skis, setting off a few slow motion slush slides. The warmth had obviously had it's affect for the north side of Boulder Ridge had slid here and there entraining whole trees in large wet snow slides.

 

We headed back down into the woods from the saddle trying to take the easiest way and for the next hour got smacked around for the second time. The skis were on and off, the sweat was pouring. Eventually we made it to the trailhead and road and we thought, ah an easy winddown, forgetting about the last mile or so which we walked in our ski boots. As Giora put it, "not exactly a ticker tape finish", but what a trip!

 

More photos & a short ski video!

 

Approach Notes:

Smack smack; bring a map.

Saw some bear tracks ( )

Edited May 11, 2012 by SmilingWhiteKnuckles

[BirdDog]

Awesome! I love that route. I have often wondered how the 3rd class section was while snow covered. Did you around to skiers left? Nice pics!

[SmilingWhiteKnuckles]

Awesome! I love that route. I have often wondered how the 3rd class section was while snow covered. Did you around to skiers left? Nice pics!

Thanks!

Going up, we climbed the rock. Coming down, we skiing around the rock on the south side of the ridge (skiers right).

[mountainsloth]

wicked. that side of baker is one of my favorite places in the cascades. the old growth forest is magic.