Mount Baker, Coleman-Deming Route Attempt 5.4 - 5.5.13
The weekend forecast looked amazing on Monday, and it actually stayed amazing as the weekend neared - that never seems to happen for me! There was supposed to be sunshine and warm temperatures everywhere in the mountains. Generally we have the opposite issue so it was exciting to have all of the Pacific Northwest to pick from for a climbing adventure. Initially we were thinking of Mt St Helens since that's near the top of the to-do list while we can still ski it, but as the forecast stayed so beautiful I thought it 'wasteful' to only do a one day climb. We could climb Mt St Helens Saturday and then head up something Sunday if we felt up for it, but we decided to take advantage of the weather and do a two day climb. The next objective on our volcano list is Mount Baker so we settled on that. We set about trying to find at least one other person to head up on a rope team with us. Everyone we e-mailed was busy, and with the nice weekend, we figured it'd only be harder to find people without plans as time went on. Sara suggested she could ask her cousin Melissa in New York, she might be interested in flying out for the weekend to climb with us. Melissa was absolutely interested and once she figured out her work schedule, she booked a ticket while we started planning our epic adventure on the opposite coast. Sara pulled together all the gear for Melissa. Luckily we know a lot of climbers that were either not using things or had extras. We figured out group gear and who would carry what. We were taking Aaron's new, very light 2 person tent and a bivy I'd use. It would be my first time bivying. We were up in the air about flotation and eventually decided to throw our snowshoes in the car and decide at the trailhead. We'd want flotation given the warm conditions, but if there were a lot of people there might be a nice boot pack and then we'd be carrying the snowshoes for nothing. Something I've done on several of my recent climbs. In fact, I don't think I've actually used my new snowshoes yet, I've just hiked up a couple mountains with them strapped to my pack. With plans and packing lists figured out I was really excited for the climb - the week couldn't go by fast enough.
Sara picked Melissa up from the airport about 10:45pm Friday night, they got to sleep a little before 1am, and I showed up at 5am to pick them up - it was a short night. I borrowed Aaron's jeep and we headed north to Mount Baker. It was a gorgeous morning and we had great views of the mountains as we drove, including Mount Baker. We stopped at the ranger station to register and continued just a little farther up the road to Forest Road 39. The conditions report online had said you could get about 5.2 miles from the road. The Heliotrope trailhead was at 7.8 miles, so we were looking at adding an extra 2.5 miles and about 1200' in elevation. Our plan was to camp at 8,000'. Knowing that was about 5,500' in elevation for one day, we recognized that might be a big goal so we decided to get to 7,000' and evaluate how we were feeling before making the call. Sara and I both agreed we wanted to get as high as possible to make for a shorter summit push. The road was full of pot holes so it was a slow, bumpy ride up. We hit the cars and soon after hit the snow covered bridge where we figured it'd be a good spot to park, about 5.4 miles from the road. Experience had told us pushing through one snow pack generally got you a few more feet of dry pavement before hitting another snow pack and it just wasn't worth the effort. We found some parking and started gearing up with gaiters and sunscreen. I finally ate half of the bagel I had toasted 3.5 hours earlier for breakfast. As we finished gearing up we had to finally make the snowshoe call. There were many vehicles on the road, and not wanting to carry the extra weight if we didn't have to, I convinced the group there would be a boot pack to follow and we should leave the snowshoes. That left me with a 33 lb overnight and glacier travel pack (not bad) versus a 36.5 lb pack if we had brought the snowshoes. We left the car about 8:40am to start the long road hike.
Hiking up the road
I started with my one trekking pole, trying to minimize the use of my injured left shoulder. After our Teneriffe hike, I had gone and bought a cheap sling to bring with me, just in case. We met a couple, a skier and split boarder, with their very energetic dog on the road. After the initial snow packs there was a long stretch of snow free road and we didn't envy booting up in backcountry ski boots. We met them again later as we took a break at the nice view of Mount Baker from the road. They seemed much happier to be on snow - I could imagine.
First good view of Baker during the climb, thanks to a clearing along the road
About a half mile later we arrived at the very snow covered trailhead. I had forgotten to take ibuprofen at the car so I figured I'd do that during a break at the trailhead. We grabbed some food and water, and after noting a sore shoulder, I got talked into putting my sling on. I think it was as much for my benefit as for the amusement of Sara and Melissa. Hiking through the trees would be the best time for me to use it since I didn't need both arms. When we were up on the glacier I wouldn't be using it so I could have both arms for arresting.
Made it to the trailhead, still very much buried under snow
Last year I had planned to climb Mount Baker with my BOEALPS BCC team. I wasn't feeling good that morning though, so after a similar road hike, I turned back at the trailhead while I could still go down without affecting the group. My first goal of the weekend was to reach the trailhead - success! Sara's next goal for me was to reach 6,000', the low camp area. After a nice break we started down the trail into the trees.
I was glad it wasn't overly warm as the temperatures were supposed to be in the 70's down at 2,500'. There was a nice breeze and we were shaded in the trees. Our normal configuration was Sara out front, Melissa in the middle, with me bringing up the rear. There was a bit of a boot pack for us to follow, but not quite the highway we expected. We had seen several groups of skiers/split boarders that morning but no other groups in boots or on snowshoes.
Hiking through the trees
Melissa has done a fair bit of mountain climbing but she didn't have much experience with snow climbs. On the best of days, moving through the snow is like a drunk walk where you fall all over yourself, shooting limbs out to help steady yourself, crossing legs, and worst case, hopefully falling into the snow slope. Unfortunately Melissa has a bad left knee, so getting used to the drunken snow walk while trying to be careful with the knee proved a little bit of a learning curve. The snow was soft and we'd find some good holes every so often. Melissa is pretty tiny, including tiny feet, so she'd post hole up to her hip. Snowshoes definitely would have been a help through this section and probably would have allowed us to move a little faster. In hindsight I should have toughened up and taken the 36.5 lb pack - shoot. The trail through the trees was long and relatively flat, it didn't feel like we were gaining much ground on our proposed 8,000' campsite.
Lunch break view of the mountains to the north
It was getting close to noon and I was ready for some food, so we stopped in a bit of a clearing in the trees. We could sit in the sun and enjoy our first mountain views to the northwest. Sara checked Google maps on her phone trying to figure out some of the Canadian peaks. We took a nice, long break to eat lunch and rest a bit. I had been doing fairly well so far, with just short periods of not feeling so good. They seemed to be coinciding when we'd stop for a break. Starting to feel better (talking more) Sara figured it best to take advantage and get back on the trail. We continued following the tracks through the trees. We had waypoints from the track my team took the year prior as a comparison to where we were. The tracks went up an open slope so we followed. Unfortunately the tracks were from some snowshoers so Sara punched through every step and it was slow going. Not wanting to step out, during one of the rather big postholes, Sara 'let' me hold her down and take over the lead to give her a break. Kicking steps up the slope basically followed the pattern of postholing in your initial step, filling it in, and then trying to take the step up again - all as the lead person. It was tiring work and I had worked up a good sweat as we neared the top. Sara offered to take back lead but I wanted to finish up to the ridge. There were a couple groups of skiers that were skinning up the slope at the same time and they took off in different directions from the ridge.
Emerged from the treeline to an awesome view of Mount Baker, and the first real look at our intended route on the Coleman-Deming
At the top of the ridge we broke from the treeline and had a great view of Mount Baker, with our first real glimpse of our intended route up the Coleman-Deming. There was a snowshoe track that followed up to a ridge nearby that we felt was our best option.
Following the snowshoe tracks up the ridges, very soft snow to kick steps in
We knew the glacier started somewhere around 6,000', give or take a few hundred feet, and we were at just over 5,000' on the ridge. Seeing as we'd be on the glacier soon, we did a quick review of using the ice axe with Melissa, talking to her about rope teams and what we needed her to do in the event one of us fell in a crevasse. Knowing the snow was super soft, we also talked about kicking steps because we'd all need to be helping in that effort. After reapplying sunscreen, Sara started up first. We all took turns kicking steps to the top of that ridge. There was a snowshoe track, including a few trees, to the next ridge so we continued on.
Melissa heading up the ridge past me as I stepped out from kicking steps
Once at the top of that, we regrouped to talk about our game plan. It was getting late in the afternoon and it looked like we might soon be hitting the glacier. If we wanted to camp at 7,000' we'd be crossing the glacier and need to be roped up anyways, so might as well do it then. Also, there were a few features on the next slope that could be alarming. They looked either like old filled in tracks or potential sagging snow over a crevasse. Better to be safe than sorry and rope up. Sara got the rope split up while I helped Melissa get the harness on since she was using my old BD Alpine Bod. Sara took the lead up to the next ridge with Melissa in the middle and me bringing up the rear again.
Roped up as we head up to find a camp spot
Once we crested the ridge we had a fairly open and flat area. It was already 5pm and we were only at 6,000'. Stopping here would mean our summit bid would be in jeopardy, but based on how long it had taken us to get that far, we figured it'd be over an hour to get up to 7,000' and daylight was burning. Not knowing what was over the next ridge and having a nice camping area in front of us, we decided to set up camp there for the night. Sara grabbed the probe to check the area, and we started on making a tent platform. As they worked on that, I started stomping out a bivy trench next door for myself. It was windier than we expected based on the forecast, which predicted less than 10mph winds, so we wanted to dig in a little. We were especially mindful of Aaron's nice, lightweight single wall tent in the wind. After I dug out my bivy trench and made my little snow wall, I started digging out the kitchen. Once I had created a bench area big enough for us, dug down with a snowwall to help protect us from the wind, I started the bathroom, and finished by making the snowwall around the tent a little higher. Digging probably wasn't the best thing for my shoulder but I had fun, and Sara was handling the stove responsibilities.
View from our campground to the west, with the glowing water in the distance
The view from camp was amazing. The sound was actually glowing yellow in the distance; I had never seen that before. We had a great view of our intended route up Mount Baker, as well as the mountains to the north. We settled down to our chicken and rice dehydrated meals. I was actually feeling pretty good. Several of my last trips I crashed when we reached camp and tried to recover while everyone else did everything. This time I helped and was even feeling sort of hungry - all good signs! Sara and I split one meal and actually finished it - better than our attempt at eating on Mt Rainier.
Our camp for the night, Melissa enjoying her chicken and rice meal in the kitchen
Melissa was a champion and seemed to be doing really well. I asked throughout the day about her feet since she was borrowing shoes, and had my pack that was too big, but she never complained and just kept on trucking. We had to figure out our game plan. We were much lower than we hoped and had about 4,800' to the summit. Considering we only did 3,500' that day, we figured we had a slim chance of reaching the summit, especially given the snow conditions and lack of flotation - my bad. We discussed what time we'd need to leave, what potential risks we'd be taking if we didn't think we had much of a chance, and what our alternatives were. In the end we figured it best to scrap our summit attempt and sleep until sunrise. We'd pack up and head down, and with the nice weather, find some other activity for the rest of the day - maybe another hike or some kayaking. Melissa was awesome, and despite flying out specifically to climb the mountain with us, hid her disappointment with our decision not to try for the summit. I couldn’t complain about the weekend - camping at 6,000' on the side of a volcano with a perfect view of sunset over the water and mountains.
Great way to end the day - watching the sun set
After we made our decision, we packed up camp a bit and settled in for the night. The tent was a perfect wind break for Melissa and Sara so they sat in the doorway to enjoy the sunset. I tried to organize my stuff so I could get in the bivy. It was a little challenging working with the small space but I got it in the end. I took a gazillion pictures of sunset and then settled in for the night with my hot water bottle - oh how I love the hot water bottle.
Alpenglow on Mount Baker, view from my bivy
Awesome sunset to watch from the bivy
I had my 10 degree sleeping bag with my puffy over my legs - I couldn't quite maneuver in the sleeping bag and bivy to get it wrapped around my feet. I zipped up the bivy except for a few inches and tucked inside my sleeping bag. The wind sounded pretty strong throughout the night, waking me several times. During one such strong gust around 9PM I unzipped the bivy to check on my boots, hoping they hadn't rolled down the mountain. I had dug a little pit for my pack, but wanting quick access to my boots, they were just outside my bivy. I was glad to check on them though because I got a view of the night sky - lots of stars and the lights of Vancouver in the distance. I later learned, during the big gusts that woke me up, Sara and Melissa would both listen for me to make sure I hadn't rolled down the mountain while I was checking on my boots. Did I mention it was my first time bivying? It went a lot better than I expected though, in the end it worked out well.
Distant Vancouver lights at 5am
I had set my alarm for 5am on Sunday to catch sunrise. I unzipped my bivy and watched as the colors played across the mountains and clouds. There were intense pink clouds in the very blue sky and I took many pictures of them.
Sunrise pink clouds to the west
Last of the sunrise pink clouds over Mount Baker, as the moon rises above the mountain as well
After watching sunrise for a while, I woke the others up at 5:30am. I stayed in my bivy for a while, since once I got out I wasn't going back in. Sara got out of the tent to start getting ready and soon discovered the snow didn't improve over night. At 6am she was sinking to at least her knee. Without flotation that would have been a terrible slog up, a little happy we made the decision we did in not trying for the summit. I don't think I've ever snow camped and had the snow walls melt during the night, it was crazy how warm it was! We packed up camp, filled in our trenches, and took a couple quick pictures. Sara had tied tiny sombreros to our helmets in celebration of Cinco de Mayo, so we had to get a picture.
Cousin sombrero shot before we head back down
After applying lots of sunscreen, we started down under the already very intense morning sun, following our tracks from the day before. The snow was very soft as we plunge stepped down, but we made pretty good time back to the treeline. Melissa was really getting to experience the wonders of snow travel, falling all over as you head down the mountain.
Hiking back down with one last good view of the mountains to the north
The sun was already very intense at 8am and the snow equally as soft, wet, and heavy
We had the one last open slope before we were back on the tracks and heading through the trees. We were all taking turns postholing, and I found it especially entertaining trying to balance mostly on my right side. I decided I'd use the sling on the way down and had put it on at camp already. We decided that if Melissa's knee really started bothering her with all the postholing, Sara would just carry her down, so we figured we should try it out.
The cousin carry
They made it a few steps but provided a great comedic break during our slog out. We met a few skiers heading up, but otherwise were on our own following the tracks. I was out front and lost them for a little bit. We started down a little before realizing they were above us so I kicked steps back up. I was becoming pretty proficient at using my one trekking pole to help haul myself up the slope. I may have a huge right side if my shoulder doesn't heal quickly. After kicking the steps I wanted a quick food break. Sara pulled out her Cheese-Its and discovered a feathered friend nearby, a camp robber. She thought it'd be fun to show Melissa how bold the birds are when it comes to getting food, but much to her surprise she got dive bombed by two birds!
Making friends with the camp robber
We were picking out familiar landmarks along the way, knowing we were getting closer to the car. We had gone around one down tree on the way up, and I was disappointed when Sara wouldn't limbo under it. On the way down Melissa decided it was a perfect opportunity. After getting stopped once by a pesky ice axe getting caught on the tree, she tried to get Sara to sing La Cucaracha as she successfully limboed under the tree. We may not have gotten the summit but our trip was still a lot of fun!
Limbo
We were back at the bridge and soon at the trailhead. My shoulder was a bit sore so I asked for a quick break before starting the road hike to let it rest and try to stretch it out a little. I had the rope as my group gear and Sara had offered throughout the weekend to carry it. My shoulder was sore, but it's sore while I sit at my comptuer all day at work too. It was going to be sore regardless, so I didn't feel the need to add to Sara's already heavy pack (she had taken the most weight) or to Melissa's bad knee, so when they offered to take gear from me at the trailhead I tried to politely decline. I learned about many attributes that ran in the family throughout the weekend, so I should have seen it coming. Soon I was being tag teamed by the cousins. Melissa was helping herself to my gear, and when I tried to stop her, I was rolled off my pack into the snow. Sara knelt on me, pinning me to the snow while Melissa took my rope, trekking pole, and picket. There were a few skiers up by the bathroom enjoying our spectacle of three girls fighting in the snow. Melissa was trying to figure out how to put the rope on her pack when I figured it was a good time to retrieve it. We fell back into the snow, both gripping half the rope, while Sara tried to pry my hands off of it. In the end, she decided the best strategy was to sit on me, and after trying to escape a few times, I finally gave up. One of the skiers had walked down to take pity on me and gave me some sharkies, handing them to me as Sara was still sitting on me. They were delicious and I followed his instructions not to share.
Now that Melissa, the tiniest one of us, had the largest pack, we started down the road for the last couple miles to the car. We passed a few more skiers heading up, and were passed by the group of skiers from the trailhead heading down. It was definitely warm down low and I could see why everyone was in shorts. Finally we rounded the last corner before the car. We quickly changed into some dry, cotton clothing and Sara helped me in an Austin Powers backup maneuver with the Jeep. We waved to the skiers as we passed them, declining their offer of beer as we had tacos in Bellingham as our next objective in honor of Cinco de Mayo. We met up with Aaron and Lina in Bellingham, headed back from a weekend of climbing in Squamish, for a late lunch. We discussed what we should do with the rest of the day since Melissa had a red eye home. She wanted to go climbing. We figured we could take enough gear from Lina and Aaron, including shoes, that we could do Great Northern Slab at Index on the way home, but Sara didn't want me climbing with my shoulder (a good call) so we settled on heading back to Seattle and doing a few pitches at the Mountaineers Wall. I came along to take pictures while they climbed. Despite not getting to check Mount Baker off the list (again), I had a great weekend full of beautiful weather, gorgeous views, and lots of laughter.
Melissa foot jamming her way up the crack as Sara belays at the Mountaineers Wall
View Mount Baker 5.4 - 5.5.13 in a larger map
Mount Baker, the standard Coleman-Deming route
Our track up Mount Baker to our camp at 6,000'
Look at camp and the remaining 4800' between us and the summit - until another day