Belaying and Bandaging: Mt Baker via Easton Glacier July 18-20, 2008

Pictures from Steve Dougherty's successful climb of Mt baker via the Easton Glacier on July 18-20, 2008. For prospectus see his website at: http://cascadeadventures.net/

Steve's post trip write-up:

Nine Chemeketans journeyed to Washington’s North Cascades for a three day climb of 10,781’ Mt. Baker via the Easton Glacier route July 18-20. Mt. Baker is the northern most Chemeketan award peak, not far from the Canadian border and is the third highest summit in Washington behind Rainier and Adams.

Jeff Howell offered his Ford F250 for hauling climbers and gear while the remaining climbers made do in Jen Truax’s brand new Toyota 4 Runner. The group left Salem at 5:30 a.m. Friday morning and rendezvoused with our Portland area threesome in Vancouver. Two additional rest stops were taken before arriving at Schreiber’s Meadow trailhead (3370') at 1 p.m.

After sorting gear and taking a group photo in the parking lot we meandered on good trail to our 6100’ camp on the “railroad grade”. Snow still lingered in shady areas below 6,000 feet. However most of the trail and the railroad grade were free of snow. We did have one interesting stream crossing and it was managed rather easily by careful foot placement and the stability afforded by out trekking poles. The cool temperatures and overcast skies prevented views of our objective but made our late afternoon approach hike very enjoyable.

We found suitable camping and running water at 6100’. Not having to melt snow for water and being able to camp on the ground instead of the snow added much to our high camp comfort.

As evening approached the overcast skies and low clouds parted enough to give glimpses of the mountain, where we could see the route’s boot track near the summit.

We woke at 2 a.m. to a calm wind, full moon and great visibility; a perfect night for a climb. We departed our base camp at 3 a.m. following the GPS waypoints that Mike Niemeyer had entered into his GPS. We traveled in three ropes teams of three utilizing three 30-meter 8mm ropes provided by Keith Hill. We carried a sleeping bag, shovel and stove to appease the mountain’s spirit and assure our safety. Navigation of the glacier seemed straight forward and we easily navigated through the numerous crevasses thanks to good visibility and some well placed wands. The crossing of a few snow bridges and stepping over small crevasses kept our climb interesting. Resting about ever y hour we climbed at a modest pace.

Our final rest break was taken in the shadow of Sherman Peak on the rim of Sherman Crater. A large moat with easy access provided privacy for a bathroom break.

The final leg to the crater rim included the steepest angle that we would encounter. The boot track here made for easy climbing. After 45 minutes of climbing we topped out and began our stroll across the wide open summit crater to the actual summit known as Grant Peak.

At 9:30 a.m. we dropped our packs and unroped at the foot of Grant Peak and Robyn Smith passed out party hats and party favors to celebrate Linda Bedard and I completing our 18th award peak with the Chemeketans.

Another Chemeketan climb team of eight, led by Jess Palacios, was waiting for us on the summit. They had summited 90 minutes earlier via the Coleman-Demming route and purposely waited for us to arrive to join in our celebration. After handshakes and hugs we took summit photos of both groups together and our individual climb team. It was a glorious morning on the mountain. The sky was perfectly clear with unlimited visibility and barely a breath of wind.

After an hour we were roped up and heading back down the softening snow. Mike Niemeyer had captured a bread crumb trail with his GPS on the ascent and was tasked with back tracking our route back to camp. We rested every hour during our leisurely descent and were back in camp by 2 p.m. We spent the remainder of the afternoon napping and enjoying the wonderful July weather.

Our bodies were fresh after the second night’s slumber as we broke camp in calm, sunny weather. Departing our high camp at 8 a.m. we were led by assistant, Linda Bedard, back to the trailhead.

We had our post climb meal at the Hometown Cafe in Sedro-Wooley, where they were easily able to accommodate our large group at one table, before making the long drive back to Oregon.

I would have to call this a perfect climb.

Climb team member, Mike Niemeyer, carried his SPOT satellite beacon during our climb and was able to update his website with our current position numerous times during the weekend. He was also able to capture photos with his cell phone and upload them to his website as well while we were on the mountain. Climb Team: Steve Dougherty (leader), Linda Bedard (assistant), Robyn Smith, Mike Niemeyer, Keith Hill, Jeff Howell, Jeremy Sloan, Matthew Tryon, and Jennifer Truax. Jennifer Truax has uploaded many pictures to webshots ...
http://cards.webshots.com/invite/pickup/142009095nWVo/album/564190544ZiOBAh

Satellite Waypoints:

Latitude:48.7053 Longitude:-121.8184 Nearest Location:not known Distance:not known Time:07/20/2008 10:11:43 (US/Pacific) http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=48.7053,-121.8184&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Latitude:48.7259 Longitude:-121.8385 Nearest Location:not known Distance:not known Time:07/20/2008 08:29:27 (US/Pacific) http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=48.7259,-121.8385&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1