June 8-9, Mt. Baker: Squak Glacier Route



Kevin, excited about the free human poop bags.
 It's going to be a fun two days.  Starting elevation was 3,300 feet.
Car was parked about a qurter mile from Schreiber's  Meadows.



Greg and Kelly relax at our camp, Crag View elev. 6513.
First day elevation gain 3,200 feet.  Weight of our packs
filled with lightweight gear - a lot!

Gourmet dinner of chicken and rice.

Kelly in his bivy.  Nice view of the Easton drainage

Morning cup of Starbuck's Via 

Kelly starts skinning up the Squak glacier, day 2.

Kelly and Kevin

We brought our rope, so pulled it out for one section of the climb,
although the crevasse danger seemed minimal.

Greg heads for the Roman Wall

Kelly, in crampons, heads up the Roman Wall.
Deming Glacier looks well crevassed below.

Kevin, Kelly, and Greg

Summit of Mt. Baker.  Elev. 10,781ft.
Vertical gain day 2 was 4,270 feet.

Kevin

Kevin in the fog below

Kelly

Greg

Greg

Kelly

Nov 29, Baker Ski Area

The weather forecast was lousy. Something like 7,000 foot snow levels and rain. But, Greg was on a streak! He had to get his November turns in, and this was the last weekend of the month. With little options for snow, we decided to try out the slopes of unopened Mt. Baker ski area. We arrived to a steady drizzle and took refuge in the lodge, which had kindly opened up food service for the multitudes of people that were taking advantage of the snow. We saw plenty of snowboarders and snowshoers, but not any other skiers. We eventually left the comfort of the lodge and toured up the ski slopes. The snow depth was about the same at the top as the bottom, which is saying, not much! We managed to pick our way through the rocks and despite the weather, were happy to get on skis.

May 5-6, Mt. Baker - Coleman/Deming - Close?

It is springtime in the Northwest, and for backcountry skiers, that means it is time to start skiing the volcanos. Knowing that Paradise would be a zoo on opening day, and wanting to minimize drive time, we decide on Mt. Baker via the Coleman and Deming glacier route. Unfortunately due to high winds and bad visibility, we called it a day at 9,100 feet. 1,600 feet shy of the summit. We still got some good turns in, and I even got a good sunburn.

Frank and Greg traverse to base camp at 7,100 feet.

Greg roped up for glacier travel on day 2.
Making a retreat in the clouds

Better visibilty and good turns from base camp down to 3,500 feet

Greg's excellent trip report:
http://www.randosaigai.com/colemandeming050507.html