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Expedition Training - Traverse of Mount Baker Climber Amos Barnes and AAI Guide Tim Connelly followed a remarkable route up and over the top of Mt. Baker a few days ago. Amos signed up for a privately guided Expedition Training program to prepare for an ascent of Mt. McKinley in a year or two. He got the training he was seeking and a small expedition out of it as well, with several nights above the clouds, ascents/descents of six glaciers and a camp on Baker's summit in a lenticular cloud. Tim and Amos spent their first two days on the spectacular Coleman Glacier, the most rugged and varied in the North Cascades. They reviewed a range of climbing and rescue skills with which Amos was familiar, practiced some advanced techniques, and then covered some "expedition specific" skills and techniques. Among these skills were practice prusiking out of a crevasse starting with a pack on and ascending fixed ropes with a full pack (situations in which you'd find yourself on days you were moving supplies or camp during an expedition). Climbers almost always practice these things unencumbered, but the pack is a significant factor and adds a big dose of realism.
Realistic crevasse rescue practice can be done in a crevasse or over the edge of a serac. Just as in real crevasse falls, the shape and condition of the "practice crevasse" can add a moderate or high degree of challenge to the extrication problem. On snowy glaciers with crevasses just beginning to reveal themselves, the main problem is the climbing rope cutting deeply into the soft lip. In that situation, another climbing team member needs to pad the lip (with a sleeping pad, pack, etc.) and lower the other end of the rope to the climber, with the pad preventing any cut-in by the second rope. Overhanging lips or steep ground beyond the lip can add challenge.
On the third day of their trip, the climbers traversed the massive Coleman Glacier. Tim reported, "We climbed above the upper icefall, and despite the major break-up of the glacier, we found a great route through." Making a rising traverse through crevasse fields, he said, "It was less complicated than I expected. We were able to find a route through right away while sometimes it just doesn't work out in the maze of crevasse patterns." They then gained the Roosevelt Glacier, and on it they had a similar success. Despite lots of crevasses, they found a fairly direct route through without running into any dead ends. Tim said, "While our line wasn't 'as the crow flies,' it was a natural reading of the land. The spots that looked like they should be easier were, and we were able to ascend directly to the ice crest of Bastille Ridge at 7600 feet."
Amos reported, "From the notch, we had "great views into the North Cascades, and at our feet was the Mazama Glacier. It dropped off so abruptly, we couldn't see the crevasses patterns below us very well at all." While they could have climbed up the Cockscomb Ridge, it didn't look that difficult, and they wanted something more challenging.
They elected to drop down a couple of hundred feet and traverse some 45-degree slopes, first on the Mazama Glacier and then on the Rainbow in order to get to the massive Park Glacier. The terrain was highly crevassed and occasionally offered intermittent steeper section. With moderate temperatures and soft surface snow, Tim said they just kicked steps and didn't need to use their crampons the whole day.
They hit the Park Glacier at the 7700-foot level with only one turn around on the way, a dead end on a series of steep steps amidst huge crevasses. Tim noted, "it was so steep it was hard to get any views of a probable route." On their second try, they got through over some thinning snowbridges.
Camp was established easily and comfortably on a 10-degree slope on the Park. The weather stayed clear, and Tim said they "enjoyed great views of Mt. Shuksan, the Pickett Range, and the attempt to identify dozens of other peaks in the North Cascades.
Amos said the alpenglow was beautiful in the evening and that they awoke to a surprise: "When we looked out of the tent in the morning we were above a sea of clouds. The cloud tops were at about 6500 feet, at least a thousand feet below us. It was an amazing view of Cascade summits rising into the clear skies above." Tim reported, "We got up at 4:00 am and were climbing by 6:00. The terrain was very heavily crevassed, and they were big. The other glaciers had hundreds of small and medium crevasses; this glacier was periodically interrupted by truck and small house eaters. Because the slope was so steep, it was difficult to read the glacier ahead of you. You didn't know if the route was going to work until the last second coming over a rise to get a view of the next crevasse. And as we climbed we saw a lenticular cloud form and dissipate. On the leeward side you'd see the clouds breaking up. The whole lenticular would disappear and later come back."
"We climbed the middle of the Park," Tim said, "but high up the headwall was cut off from us by three big crevasses traversing the slope, so we ascended the right hand side of the upper headwall." Amos called the Park headwall "spectacular." "The crevasses weren't as bad as on the other glaciers, but it was steep, and climbing the bergschrund to get onto the headwall was the hardest thing I've done with a full pack. It was 50 degrees and I was working hard, but after the headwall it eased off and was a pleasure to climb to the top. We gained the upper Cockscomb Ridge at 10,200 and then were able to easily follow that to the summit." Tim noted, "The ridge gave us firm ground for the most part but had breakable crust in spots. It's a broad ridge of about 30 feet, gradually ascending with occasional 40 to 45 degree steps. On our right there was a drop to the Roosevelt and on the left to the upper Park. Very aesthetic."
Shortly after the photo above was taken, Tim and Amos climbed into the lenticular cloud, and this time it stayed for good. The final climb to the 10,778-foot summit was in a white out with winds steady at 20 mph and gusts to 30. Since he was on Mt. Baker for expedition training, Amos concurred with Tim's suggestion that camping on the summit would be instructive because of the challenges of dealing with the weather. "So we dug a hole and used the removed snow to build walls," Amos said. "We had a shovel and a saw but could only use the shovel. Tim suggested that we dig enough to get the base of the tent four feet below ground level. Above that he showed me how to build walls, so in the end, the tent was totally shielded from the building winds."
They retired into the tent at 3:00 pm for a hot drink and a nap, awakening a couple of hours later for a leisurely dinner and then lights out. Evening winds were a steady 30 mph with higher gusts, but Tim said they were totally snug and undisturbed. "Having built many camps at 17,000 feet during AAI's McKinley expeditions, where we have to deal with much higher winds and much lower temperatures," Tim noted, "This was a perfect introduction to that kind of essential camp preparation. You do it right the first time and you reap the dividends."
On their fifth and final day, they were up at 6:00 to enjoy a surprising sight of clear skies and, once again, a sea of clouds below. As breakfast was cooking, they had the happy opportunity to welcome climbers on AAI's 12-day Alpine Mountaineering program to the summit. Climbing the Easton Glacier with guides Joe Stock and Jeremy Allyn were climbers Jason Jurica (Los Angeles), George Myers (Chula Vista, CA), Kathleen Pelto (Lakeville, MN), Ben Wertz (Woodinville, WA), Bija Saas (Castledale, UT), and Bill Smotherman (Castledale, UT). Tim and Amos left the summit at about 8:15 a.m. and came down the Deming and Coleman Glaciers, completing the traverse of the mountain. They descended into the clouds, but it was a dry white out, and they didn't get any mist until entering the climax fir forest far below. Amos concluded he had captured what he was after: "I not only accomplished great skills practice in totally realistic, big mountain conditions, I also got to climb six glaciers in five days. The route finding was amazingly complex at times, but it all worked beautifully." "We also got to do some great ice climbing. I missed the ice climbing season this past year in New England, there wasn't the ice we usually have. I couldn't believe what great ice climbing you can do on Mt. Baker in the summer. My goal is the West Rib of McKinley in the spring of 2003, so I wanted to be really put through the paces. Tim really answered that request and then some. On a scale of one to ten this was a nine for intensity. I can't imagine a 10." "Tim kept me busy constantly. As soon as we set up camp, we were out on the ice the first day. The second day we were on the ice for nine hours. The third day was climbing four glaciers from 8:30 until after 6:00 pm. The overall ascent was absolutely gorgeous. I even got to see how Baker is an active volcano; we passed by several fumaroles that Tim had never seen before. All in all I'd say the whole trip was packed with learning, and it was in awe inspiring alpine scenery from beginning to end. I expected to be impressed, but the size and complexity of the glaciers on Mt. Baker were tremendous."
If you are interested in basic glacier training in the U.S. see: 6-Day Alpine Mountaineering For the Alps of France and Switzerland see Europe
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A crevasse on the Roosevelt Glacier.
