Mount Baker - Squak Route 6.29 - 6.30.13

We had a team of four ready to give it another go on Mount Rainier. This time we decided to head up the DC route in hopes of camping at the Ingraham Flats for a shorter summit push. We planned a Friday – Sunday climb and as the newest forecast came out Thursday night, there was a chance of thunderstorms Friday, Friday night, and Saturday. The plan has always been to try only in the best of weather and a chance of thunderstorms certainly didn't meet that criteria. With other mountains having better forecasts, we decided to make a last minute change to the climbing plans and turn our sights towards Mount Baker. Sara and Luke were in so I pulled together plans in a day. With the road to the Heliotrope Ridge trailhead (and the popular Coleman-Deming route I attempted in May) washed out, I looked at the south side routes. I had first attempted Mount Baker for my BCC graduation climb via the Easton Route. The other option was the Squak Route. I scoured the internet for route descriptions and trip reports and found a lot more information on the Easton than the Squak. I never wanted to head back up the Easton, but I had been up most of it (to 9200') and there was a lot more information. The Squak seemed more direct with higher camp options, and wanting to avoid the crowds we assumed would be on the Easton route, we chose the Squak.

We left Seattle just after 6am, hoping to be on the trail by 9am. We stopped to self register at the ranger station in Sedro-Wolley and headed for the trailhead in Schriebers Meadow. The parking lot and much of the road nearby was packed with cars - it was going to be a very busy mountain. As I walked through the parking lot to hit the bathroom before starting, Gaetano caught my attention. He was planning to head up the Squak with a couple of friends and camping about where we were thinking. They were hoping to avoid the crowds as well. All six of us started from the trailhead at about the same time. We knew the Scott Paul trail that we needed broke off from the Park Butte trail within 100 feet of the trailhead, and looking at the trail on the topo maps on our GPS, we set off in what we thought was the right direction. Sara, Luke, and I first started up what we thought was the trail but were met with some bushwhacking. The guys soon appeared and decided to try another route so we made our way back through the brush to follow them. They doubled back thinking we had found the trail as well, so we all decided to push on. Sara headed up the slope hoping the trail was just above us but nothing looked promising. We were on what appeared to be an old, overgrown road.

Sara searching for the trail

Based on the fact that the trail seemed to be well maintained from what I had read on the forest service website, I was sure we were missing something but we couldn't find anything better. We followed the trail for a little while, eventually giving up and started our bushwhack up. I had put together some waypoints based on past tracks I had found overlayed on topo maps, as well as studying the terrain on topo maps and in Google Earth, so we used those to head in the general direction we wanted.

It was slow going, trying to find the path of least resistance through the trees and brush. We would find old tracks in the snow every so often and follow those for a while. We even found a really well maintained trail at one point, but it was heading down and not in the exact direction we wanted to go. Having already bushwhacked a bunch, we figured we'd just stick with that and keep heading in the direction we were aiming for.

Found some sort of trail, didn't know if it was the one we were suppose to be on or which direction to head on it so we went back to bushwhacking up

Finally, after almost two and a half hours and a measly 1300' foot gain, we broke out of the trees and onto the snow. After rounding a little hill, we had our first view of Mount Baker. The first small accomplishment of the weekend.

We finally broke out of the trees for our first views of the mountain

There were three camps we had read about. The first, lowest, and most popular was Craig View at 6500'. The second one, the one we were aiming for, was on the Sulphur Moraine at 7000'. The third and highest camp was near the prow of rock around 7700'. The snowfields leading to the glacier were full of valleys and ridges so we kept a close eye on our GPS to make sure we weren't unnecessarily gaining elevation. We spotted Gaetano's group up ahead and knew we were on the right track.

Approaching Craig View at 6500', just before reaching the glacier

It was warm out but we made steady progress up. As we reached Craig View, we stopped to rope up as we'd be heading out on the glacier. We could see many crevasses and seracs awaiting us. It was about 2pm when we reached Craig View. The Sulphur Moraine camp was a bit off climber's right of the most direct route and only 500' more in elevation gain, so we decided to bypass that and head straight for the high camp at 7700'. Sara took lead with Luke in the middle and me bringing up the rear. Sara set off at a really nice, steady pace and we made good progress up. It also helped that we had the steps from the guys to follow. There were several crevasses to wind our way through but they presented little challenge for us.

Navigating around some of the crevasses

We had seen the guys making progress up ahead of us, and had noticed them coming back down one section. When we reached that point, we were near where we wanted to make camp so we followed their traversing footsteps to find a suitable area. They had set up just to the side of some seracs near the prow of rock so we headed up and checked to see if they'd mind if we set up next to them. They didn't, so Sara grabbed the probe to check for crevasses and mark out an area for camp.

Traverse over to camp

In order to travel as light as possible, we brought Aaron's Direkt 2 and OR bivy again. I helped Sara and Luke stamp out a tent pad, then went about digging myself a bivy trench while they set up the tent. I made it uphill from the tent and a bit deeper this time so Sara didn't have to worry about me rolling down the mountain. I also made a cubby hole for my boots so I didn't worry about them throughout the night.

Camp set up, time to melt some snow

A couple of the guys, later we learned Eric and Andrew, set off on a scouting mission to check out the route as we set up camp. As we melted water and got food ready for dinner, Gaetano, Andrew, and Eric came to join us. It was fun to swap climbing stories and share food. They were the best camping neighbors to have – not only did they kick steps and share food, they even gave us a little fuel to finish melting our last couple liters of water when we ran out.

Seracs near camp

They planned to leave about 2:30am which was our plan as well, meaning a 1:30am wake up time for us. Although the forecast called for a fairly warm weekend, it was still a bit chilly. I had brought my 35 degree sleeping bag and liner since it was lighter than my 0 degree bag. After starting to shiver in my puffy vest and jacket, it was time to head to bed and hopefully warm up. After getting my pack ready for the next day, including restocking my waist belt pockets with food, I snuggled into the bivy.

Great view of the North Cascades from camp. You can even see Mount Baker's shadow across Baker Lake from the setting sun

I cuddled with my hot water bottle but couldn't quite get my legs and feet warm enough, leaving me bunched up in a ball all night and leading to sore legs. It wasn't as windy as the last time I had bivied on Mount Baker, but I was getting much worse sleep. I kept checking my watch, hoping 1:30am would approach soon so I could get moving. My alarm went off so I woke up the tent kids. I stayed in my bivy a little while longer since I couldn't hop back into the warmth if I had to wait. I managed to eat half of a bagel and a Gu before we started off. With steps already kicked and not completely frozen snow, we kept the crampons in our bags and headed up under a fairly bright moon. Since our rope team had worked so well on the approach to camp the day before, we kept the same line-up with Sara out front, Luke in the middle, and me bringing up the rear.

Alpine start, heading out from camp at 2:30am

During dinner the night before, I had asked Sara if we could stop every 30 minutes for a quick break. I knew I'd need breaks, especially if I wanted to keep eating and drinking like I should, so to avoid breaking at random times I wanted a system. I brought music this time, hoping it'd help me focus on something else and get myself out of my head. I'm not so sure it worked but at least it broke up the silent march up the mountain in the dark. By the second break I wasn't feeling very good and plopped down on the snow to try and settle myself. I knew I needed to keep drinking and eating so I got some salami down along with my water/gatorade mix. It was a struggle to continue up but I figured I'd keep going until I threw up. It was probably best I was at the back of the rope where no one could see me struggling. It was really helpful to know I got breaks every 30 minutes so I could keep going until those. Baby steps to make it up the mountain.

Approaching the crater rim

The sun started lighting up the sky a couple hours after we started, just as we were approaching the crater rim. We could see headlamps of some of the groups coming up the Easton route to our left, but I was surprised by how many people I saw at the crater rim. It was like a mini reunion on the rim. I saw Evan, a guy I work with; Danika coming up with her team that she led this year; and we caught up with our camp neighbors. The rim was exposed dirt and rock so we could group together for a break. I really wasn't feeling good so I asked for a longer break to try and settle myself. The crater rim was at about 9700' so we only had 1100' more to the summit. Sara said she wasn't going to let me turn around, but I was feeling pretty terrible. I threw up twice, and after waiting for a little bit to settle, I got some food and water down for the rest of the climb up.

Sunrise over the North Cascades beyond the crater rim

Although I felt bad, the views at the crater rim were pretty nice. The sunrise was casting a glow over Sherman Peak, and we spotted Mount Baker's shadow.

Sunrise glow on Sherman Peak with the moon above

We decided to put crampons on for the steep section ahead of us. I actually felt a little better (i.e. less terrible than I had so far) so I signaled Sara so we could take off. I've learned that as soon as I feel good, or start to feel bad, we need to get moving. We jumped in line behind many other groups and were lucky enough to have a break in the line of climbers behind us. This let us stop for a couple quick water breaks on the way up without slowing anyone else down.

Heading up the steep section to the summit plateau. This would later be the bottle neck on the way down that we had to wait for

Once in the line of climbers our pace slowed a bit, but we were making steady progress up. Up until that point all the teams were headed up, but as we approached the crevasse that split the steep slope, there was one team heading down. They took it upon themselves to try another crossing over as the normal path was full of climbers heading up.

Line of climbers heading up the Easton to the crater rim

The views to the south were pretty spectacular on the way up. The clouds from Saturday were no where to be seen on Sunday. We finally emerged from the shadows into the sun so we stopped quick to grab sunglasses. We were about a hundred feet from the summit plateau and as soon as we crested, I was instantly relieved.

Summit plateau!

We continued to where the large group of people were hanging out and dropped our packs by the guys. They had summitted already and were just resting quick before heading back down. We grabbed our GPSs and camera and did the short hike up to the summit. The view was spectacular and I took some time to get a bunch of pictures . After nine volcano attempts, that being my fourth attempt on Mount Baker, I finally summitted! There were several other groups up at the summit with us so we got a quick group picture before heading back to our packs.

View from the summit

Luke, myself, and Sara on the summit of Mount Baker

Gorgeous view of the North Cascades from the summit of Mount Baker

We reached the summit at 10,778' about 7am, only 4.5 hours after leaving camp. We made much better time than we expected! It was a bit windy on the summit and with all the groups, we didn't hang around long. We grabbed our packs and started down. I had the kiwi coil of rope as the back but it was pushing on my shoulder a bit and aggravating it, so Sara swapped positions on the rope with me on the way down.

I jumped in the down line and soon came to a halt. There were many groups heading down and the same number heading up. The crevasse across the steep slope created a bottle neck that didn't allow multiple teams to pass each other, so we had to wait as everyone took turns. Finally we made it past that point and made good time down. The snow was still fairly firm so it was great conditions to crampon down. Luckily, after the crater rim, we broke off down the Squak route and were able to leave the crowds behind. The sun was up and the snow was getting sloppy. Part way down we decided to stop to delayer a bit, and soon after, to take our crampons off. The way up seemed straightforward and went by quickly - I somehow missed all the gentle rolls as we trudged up. Down seemed to drag on but finally I spotted camp and our great view of the North Cascades.

Finally made it back to camp with a great view of the North Cascades

The guys were just finishing packing up when we got back and they set off to traverse to the Easton route. They wanted to avoid the bushwhack on the way down. We knew we could get back via the Squak, and hoping we'd find the missing trail, we decided to head back down the Squak again. We took a quick break to put on some sunscreen and eat before breaking camp down.

By 10:30am we were headed down from camp, back through the maze of crevasses. Sara led us out again with me bringing up the rear. It was sunny and warm and we were getting a little fried out on the glacier. Our steps from the day before had partially melted but we could still follow the tracks.

Navigating back down through the crevasses

Finally we made it to the rocks near Craig View at 6500' and unroped. With the heavy pack and harness, my hips were feeling pretty bruised and I was very happy to shed the harness. After a break to eat a little food we started down. Luke loves glissading so every little slope we came to we glissaded down. We kept an eye on the GPS to make sure we didn't follow the wrong drainage down. We made it back to that initial snow clearing and took a quick break in the trees. My shoulder was feeling a little sore and we could use a break from the sun. We decided instead of following our tracks down, which made a few switchbacks, we'd just bushwhack down in as straight of a line as possible back to the trailhead.

Sara led down, trying to find the path of least resistance. It was slow going and Luke's new boots were killing his feet. We hit the well maintained trail again and started down it, hoping it'd go where we wanted but at least grateful for the break from bushwhacking. It wasn't going anywhere fast so we left the trail and started bushwhacking again. Finally some of the areas started looking familiar and we knew we were close. Following some old steps in the snow brought us to the parking lot and the trailhead, we were down! I wanted to know how we missed the trail so I checked out the map at the trailhead but couldn't figure out where we went wrong. Maybe when it's all melted out I'll have to go back and find the trail – or maybe not. Now that I've climbed Mount Baker, I don't ever need to go back!

View Larger Map Map for this adventure

Route up Mount Baker on the edge of the North Cascades

Took the Squak Route up the Squak Glacier with a bushwhack approach, as evidenced by the wandering routes. Red was our day 1 approach, yellow was day 2 summit push and descent

Heading up from camp to meet up with the Easton Route just below the crater rim, and join the masses in summitting Mount Baker