[TR] Mount Baker - Coleman-Deming Glaciers 1/16/2014

[Lukas]

Trip: Mount Baker - Coleman-Deming Glaciers

 

Date: 1/16/2014

 

Trip Report:

On January 16, Todd and I headed up to the Heliotrope Ridge Trailhead. We drove up 39 as far as we could and parked with a bunch of snowmobilers. While we purchased the Sno-Park season pass at REI the previous day, we left it at home (we weren't ticketed).

 

It was both of our first times on the mountain and first time on glaciers. I have experience above 14k feet and Todd has a lot of backpacking experience. We are both sport climbers. Seeing the forecast I was stoked to get out. The temperature inversion gave me more excitement, as I love undercasts!

 

Heliotrope Ridge Trail had deep powder and was tough breaking trail. We don't have skis, YET. Too poor. We were hoping to see others' tracks, but we were first on the scene and never found the climbers trail. We ended up hiking all the way out to Glacier View then traversing back and making camp at Gargoyle Camp. Most of the snow above treeline was icy. Little post-holing.

 

We awoke at 2AM on Jan 17 to high winds. Back to sleep. Todd woke me up at 8AM and we made the decision to climb up to the Hogsback. I wasn't comfortable with a VERY late start, but I was just happy to be on the mountain and figured we'd climb to the Hogsback and head down off the mountain. The crevasses looked amazing! The maze of crevasses had us traverse the entire Coleman Glacier to the Roman Nose then back to the Coleman Saddle. Once there we probably got summit fever and decided to keep going and make the summit. We made it back to our camp just as the sun set. A team of 3 skiers was also on the mountain and we followed their tracks out by torch light (Not the best decision but it was one we felt comfortable with). Their tracks never went on the Heliotrope Trail, it cut through the woods and came out right behind the bathrooms at the trailhead... is this the typical approach trail???

 

If anyone from that trio reads this, thank you very much for the tracks!

 

Here's a video I put together:

 

 

Gear Notes:

Crampons, Ice axe, Glacier Travel equipment

 

Approach Notes:

Snowshoes or skis would be great.

[JasonG]

Sounds like the followed the skiers out the typical Grouse Creek approach. This is the typical approach when the terrain is snow covered and you are on skis, but the summer trail is farther east.

[Jason4]

When I was in there on Dec 28 the winter route did not look like it was in so we walked the summer route with skis on our packs. This last storm must have helped.