Polly Penguin and I at the summit
Lenticular cloud formingI came into this climb feeling confident that I had prepared as much as was possible and I was prepared to meet the challenges ahead. I had previously summited Mt. Baker two times and this was my second time climbing the Easton Glacier route. I was part of a strong, well equipped party that had been training and practicing for the last 6 months. It is funny how the challenges you face on mountain climbs may not always be the ones you were expecting.
Mt. Baker is well known for it's record snowfall in the winter and I have a theory that has proven true in my experience. If there is a chance of rain in Western Washington it will rain at Mount Baker. The forecast for this climb was for a chance of showers on Sunday night. Not the worst forecast in the world. We might get hit by a little rain on our way out Sunday afternoon or we might miss it altogether.
We had a great hike to our base camp on Saturday and there was an overall feeling of optimism within the group. We even had a small group of Sherpas from the club that hiked up to our base camp with us and carried our ropes and some of our group gear. Even so packs on a climb like this are heavy and it was a tiring hike. We spent the afternoon resting, eating, hydrating and basking in the alpine glory. Plans were made for an alpine start. Up at 10:30 P.M. and climbing by Midnight
We got up and started close to our planned time and began ascending on a beautiful night. This is the part of climbing big mountains that I love. The cool brisk air filling my lungs,the sound of crampons and ice axe's as they penetrate the firm Styrofoam like snow and the sight of headlamps flickering as they slowly move up the mountain. I was feeling great, even euphoric.
As we continued to climb our party began to go slow and slower. When climbing it is frustrating when you have to continuously stop and can't get into a rhythm of breathing and stepping. Something was wrong but what I could not tell. Because of our slow pace we began to be overtaken by faster moving parties. I started getting pushed out of the line of steps kicked in the snow and into deep soft snow. This was exhausting and even more frustrating. I was miles from anywhere on the slope of a beautiful mountain being mosh pitted by a crowd! Eventually our party stopped and it was decided that one of our party who was struggling would have to return to camp. As it is unsafe to a travel on glacier alone two other members of our team were selected to descend back to camp with them. A tough break for them.
We resumed climbing at a more acceptable pace, however we were still in the middle of a huge crowd of people crawling to the top. The result of this was many stops and starts. Eventually we reached the summit crater still over 1000 feet from the top but getting much nearer. This is when the weather began to quickly deteriorate. The wind picked up making it instantly feel much colder and as it had started getting light by this point you could see groups of clouds moving rapidly overhead. It was getting windy but still manageable and as we were committed to making it to the summit we continued to climb.
As we continued our slow upward trudge conditions continued to deteriorate. When we finally reached the summit it was a full whiteout with high winds. We didn't stay and celebrate for too long. It was very cold and we knew it was going to be a long trip back. Just as we were leaving the summit the mountain decided to give us one more goodbye present. It began to hail and sleet sideways. It was very painful hitting on your face and I tried as best as I could to cover my skin with my balaclava and hood.
As we continued to climb our party began to go slow and slower. When climbing it is frustrating when you have to continuously stop and can't get into a rhythm of breathing and stepping. Something was wrong but what I could not tell. Because of our slow pace we began to be overtaken by faster moving parties. I started getting pushed out of the line of steps kicked in the snow and into deep soft snow. This was exhausting and even more frustrating. I was miles from anywhere on the slope of a beautiful mountain being mosh pitted by a crowd! Eventually our party stopped and it was decided that one of our party who was struggling would have to return to camp. As it is unsafe to a travel on glacier alone two other members of our team were selected to descend back to camp with them. A tough break for them.
We resumed climbing at a more acceptable pace, however we were still in the middle of a huge crowd of people crawling to the top. The result of this was many stops and starts. Eventually we reached the summit crater still over 1000 feet from the top but getting much nearer. This is when the weather began to quickly deteriorate. The wind picked up making it instantly feel much colder and as it had started getting light by this point you could see groups of clouds moving rapidly overhead. It was getting windy but still manageable and as we were committed to making it to the summit we continued to climb.
As we continued our slow upward trudge conditions continued to deteriorate. When we finally reached the summit it was a full whiteout with high winds. We didn't stay and celebrate for too long. It was very cold and we knew it was going to be a long trip back. Just as we were leaving the summit the mountain decided to give us one more goodbye present. It began to hail and sleet sideways. It was very painful hitting on your face and I tried as best as I could to cover my skin with my balaclava and hood.
It was a long and luckily uneventful trip back to camp. My hands got cold from removing my gloves and taking photos at the summit and stayed that way for most of the descent. I also had to remove my glasses to be able to see where I was stepping due to them fogging up and getting saturated with rain on the way down. When we finally made it back to our camp it was a much welcomed sight.
Back at camp I was exhausted, hungry and still hadn't completely warmed up yet. I tried to prioritize what to do first. When my tent mate asked me to remove my gear from the tent so he could start breaking it down I got irritated and started tossing my stuff out onto the snow. I wasn't really mad at him, just physically and emotionally exhausted.
We packed up and started the long march back to the trail head. We were treated to almost continuous rain all the way back. On our way out we were met by more friendly Sherpas who greeted us with fresh fruit and cookies. Shout out all the awesome Sherpas! To our surprise the trail head had been moved two miles farther away from where we had started. Or so it seemed.
Back at camp I was exhausted, hungry and still hadn't completely warmed up yet. I tried to prioritize what to do first. When my tent mate asked me to remove my gear from the tent so he could start breaking it down I got irritated and started tossing my stuff out onto the snow. I wasn't really mad at him, just physically and emotionally exhausted.
We packed up and started the long march back to the trail head. We were treated to almost continuous rain all the way back. On our way out we were met by more friendly Sherpas who greeted us with fresh fruit and cookies. Shout out all the awesome Sherpas! To our surprise the trail head had been moved two miles farther away from where we had started. Or so it seemed.
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