Mt Baker Climb ( Jun 30 2018 )


After spending months training, this includes physical conditioning, as well mountaineering skills with the Mountaineers, I decided to put these to the test and try a climb.

After signing up on the climb, the weather started to change drastically, I constantly watched the conditions a week before, and knew this was not the ideal conditions I had hoped for.
Carefully, evaluating my gear I started packing, laying out everything on my lounge floor.
Climbing Essentials Food, clothing misc all packed

After a 2 hour drive from Seattle, we arrived at the trailhead, met my companions, and started the hike up Heliotrope Ridge.


Even though the weather was not ideal ( wind and rain ) the hike was beautiful


Finally after a couple of leisurely hours, we arrived, setup camp and started to settle in.







The wind was really blowing, waking at 12.45am, I almost quit and thought I am good to sleep the night away, if we don't get blown off the bloody mountain..lol
Never the less, I got up had a coffee and bagel. Proceeded to do my business in the rain, and got onto the rope.

At 3.25am we finally set off.
An easy climb for the next mile, not withstanding the weather. Eventually a break in the weather. Yes!

 A rainbow!! this gave all of us a little smile :)
As quickly as the break came, it went, this continued for a while.
Reaching the Roman wall, the wind chill must have around 12F, water bottle freezing, taking off gloves was a no no.
We took a little break, and started again. As the sun breaks came the beauty of the mountain started to reveal itself.



The last push to the summit plateau was hard work, using the ice axe and crampons in every step, as the sun shone on the side of this mountain, we could see crevasses below, and the entire side of this mountain "chimed" with ice crystals blowing down, it was gorgeous. I have never seen anything like this before.

Reaching the plateau, everything was somewhat satisfying, I stopped took a sip of water, I was excited to get to the "true" summit a few feet away, I quickly left my pack, took my ice axe and camera and headed to it, in a sort of hurry, as if it was going to go away..lol
There were a few other teams there, all smiling and congratulating each other, it was pure bliss!


It was warmer here than the Roman wall, perhaps the sun was helping.


Heading down, I was excited, this was my first glacier climb in entertaining weather.



During this adventure, my thoughts went in many directions. Allow yourself this pleasure, but always beware of your surroundings and dangers, crevasses, rock falls, avalanche conditions are a reality and you need to react quickly if yourself or anyone on your team gets into trouble.

Happy trails!!
Neel

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Camp Muir Overnight: 25 Jun 2022

Image
Camp Muir Overnight Backpack In Seattle Mt Rainier stands tall on a clear day from so many directions, it is generally know as "the mountain" and people often say "the mountain is out today" I learnt this very quickly after I moved over here :) The base camp for Mt Rainier is known as Camp Muir. It is a pretty strenuous hike up, at over 4600 feet gain in elevation over 4 miles, you are almost always going uphill :) https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/camp-muir Having done day hikes up to Muir, and once staying overnight at the shelter there for a climb, I thought it would be a cool experience to camp in a tent at 10080 feet and just enjoy the vibe, I know what you may be thinking....but the views ;) You will require a permit to stay overnight at Camp Muir ( alpine or Snow field ). This will need to be picked up at he Ranger station the night before or the morning of. We decided to pick it up the night before, and camp nearby, so we could start at 7am the next day. T...
Read more

Mount Feathertop overnight backpack - Winter: Jul 2 2023

Image
  Since moving back from the PNW to Australia, I knew Victoria had an alpine area, and that we could do winter backpacking with an iconic view of Mount Feathertop in Winter. I had seen a few pics of these mainly from skiers, and did not have anyone in my circle who would want to backpack in winter in AU. Hence, when my hiking and climbing partner came to visit from the PNW, this was a must do trip, along with a few others. I had spoken to various folks, some from my bushwalking club, and a few friends who backpack, but in summer, and they all had a similar message "Feathertop can be dangerous - due to cornices formed by high winds" Taking this into account, I looked up options for getting there: Option1: Bungalow Spur: Length 13.1 mi / 21 km   Elevation gain  4,524 ft / 1379meters Shorter in length but Waay more elevation gain! Especially with a 18kg backpack! Option2: Razor backs:  Length 14.1 mi / 22.7 km  Elevation gain 2,903 ft / 884 meters Longer le...
Read more

Rialto Beach Backpacking: 15 May 2021

Image
Rialto Beach is a very accessible backpacking location on the Olympic Peninsula.  Now in saying that, it will be a 3 to 4 hour drive from Seattle, and you can choose the ferry or drive the scenic route, I personally prefer to drive. For a day hike you can enjoy the beach and restrooms at the parking lot, however if you would like to stay overnight a permit is required. This site as lots of details about warnings, closures etc:  https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/rialto-beach.htm Step 1: Get a Permit ( Note this can be quite complicated!) a) Wilderness Camping Permit are required and be reserved at the  https://www.recreation.gov/ b) Search for Olympic National Park Wilderness Permit c) Select Overnight and the date you would like to start This will take you to the next page where you can see a list of available locations.  Note: some of your data might not carry across to the new page, so you may have to enter "overnight again" etc. d) You will also NOT see Rial...
Read more