W. Wa Cascadia Autonomous Region '24/'25

[PNWbrit]

I haven't done it

I'm stunned.

Snowmobiles can get way up there

You'll notice that I asked him about this.

[Wobby]

Nope. For good reason.

Which route are you considering?

Have snowmobiles?

Is there someone you're planning to do this with that we can persuade not to?

lol

Easton or Boulder Glacier probably. Thinking south side. We don't have sleds, but 10k uphill day on foot is not out of the question - just haven't quite had that long of a day this year (yet).

I'm mostly curious about trailhead/road conditions, where snowline is at, and what do you think glacier/crevasse conditions would be with the season you all have been having? I am currently adjusted to the conditions of our Sierra snowpack, and have not been following the PNW super well other than to know that it has been a little above average... (?)

Thanks for the info guys!

[PNWbrit]

lol

Easton or Boulder Glacier probably. Thinking south side. We don't have sleds, but 10k uphill day on foot is not out of the question - just haven't quite had that long of a day this year (yet).

I'm mostly curious about trailhead/road conditions, where snowline is at, and what do you think glacier/crevasse conditions would be with the season you all have been having? I am currently adjusted to the conditions of our Sierra snowpack, and have not been following the PNW super well other than to know that it has been a little above average... (?)

Thanks for the info guys!

You should check how many flat miles of road you're might be skinning without sleds.

It's not just 10k of climbing.

Yes glacier travel. You proficient at that? How many in party to conduct crevasse rescue if needed.

No avalanche forecasting or reports for the volcanoes and yes there will be considerable avalanche danger.

Snow conditions up high can be horrendous through to scoured blue ice.

8.5 hours of daylight means high chance of emergency bivvy.

There are reasons this doesn't/very rarely get done mid-winter.

Plenty of better/saner options available.

[wickstad]

lol

Easton or Boulder Glacier probably. Thinking south side. We don't have sleds, but 10k uphill day on foot is not out of the question - just haven't quite had that long of a day this year (yet).

I'm mostly curious about trailhead/road conditions, where snowline is at, and what do you think glacier/crevasse conditions would be with the season you all have been having? I am currently adjusted to the conditions of our Sierra snowpack, and have not been following the PNW super well other than to know that it has been a little above average... (?)

Thanks for the info guys!

Yeah That’ts gonna be a long ways without a ride. Just don’t see the point. It is an excellent summer ski.

[Huskier]

Possible. Winter ascents of Rainier happen all the time for those with experience and planning, Baker is more straightforward. The glacier travel on Easton is low grade (note not without risk), the wall is surmountable but is likely full of rime and sastrugi and borderline unskiable this time of year. You would likely need to leave skis at the sulfur vents (proper name?). It would involve super-human amounts of soul-sucking skinning up multiple miles of access road without a sled as others have mentioned (You notice the access road is a winding affair with few opportunities to cut switchers). Taking a sled any amount of the climb is going to feel cheap. 2 days with a sled, 4 without. And the skiing isn't going to be as good/as much of an accomplishment as you think. 100% spring ski, like the others say.

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[Jeb McHardman]

Anyone here ever skiied from the summit of Baker in the middle of winter? I've got a trip lined up starting at the end of next week, and I'm brainstorming some options for if the high pressure comes to fruition.

I have skied both the Easton and Squak in winter. As noted above, the road skinning is the most tedious part. Assuming weather and avy conditions are cooperative, travel from Schreiber and above is pretty straightforward given competency in glacier travel and prior familiarity with the route(s). The skiing will suck on the Roman Wall, but lower down could be good; could also be wind-fucked trash. You will also be breaking trail the entire way, so factor that into your timing.

[Wobby]

Sweet, thanks for the beta guys. Wheres the snow line right now?

[Jeb McHardman]

And to clarify, I'm not advocating for doing this, just mentioning that it's possible/gets done occasionally. There are far better places to go skiing in Washington at the moment.

[Jeb McHardman]

Sweet, thanks for the beta guys. Wheres the snow line right now?

3,000'ish. I haven't been on the south side of Baker this season, but I imagine you would be parking substantially lower than that however

[Jeb McHardman]

Sweet, thanks for the beta guys. Wheres the snow line right now?

3,000'ish. I haven't been on the south side of Baker this season, but I imagine you would be parking substantially lower than that however

[Wobby]

I knew this question in this thread was going to cause a stir lol.

I'll be around for a couple days before my partners show up. Was planning to just shred resort if its good, but up to options. Any friendly mags want to meet up? I won't slow you down

[Wobby]

Also Jeb, big thanks for the honest and straightforward beta

[Jeb McHardman]

Also Jeb, big thanks for the honest and straightforward beta

For sure dude. When will you be around Washington? I'll be out of the country the last week of the month but would be down to get some turns in if you're around before then

[BFD]

might be some crevasses on Baker. Some stoke. Definitely not winter.

[kamtron]

lol

Easton or Boulder Glacier probably. Thinking south side. We don't have sleds, but 10k uphill day on foot is not out of the question - just haven't quite had that long of a day this year (yet).

I'm mostly curious about trailhead/road conditions, where snowline is at, and what do you think glacier/crevasse conditions would be with the season you all have been having? I am currently adjusted to the conditions of our Sierra snowpack, and have not been following the PNW super well other than to know that it has been a little above average... (?)

Thanks for the info guys!

I have done a November descent and some spring descents in winter conditions. This is a good year for doing it without a sled. As of last week, it was possible to drive nearly the whole way to the Heliotrope trailhead. I imagine you can get to maybe 3k on the S side too (might be able to find beta if you know someone who has been sledding up there recently). With the warm storms on tap over the next few days, I don't imagine road access will get worse.

Like others said, the main hazards will be crevasses which are bridged by suspect dry snow and potentially wind slab on the Roman wall. The crevasses are a real hazard; there are guaranteed to be some hidden ones. If you can go with someone who has intimate knowledge of the route, that could help you avoid sketchy spots. With this year's good early season precip, some at higher freezing levels, I imagine the standard routes are covered enough.

Boulder ridge is an interesting choice, it's a fair amount more remote, lower starting elev, less traveled, but also involves less glacier travel (if taking the Boulder/Park cleaver ridge) until the top. However, the top of the Boulder glacier is pretty cracked up in summer so be cautious. I would recommend either S side (Easton/Squak) or Coleman-Deming routes for simplicity. Also, note that the upper 3k or so of the mountain is above NWAC's forecast elevation, so you are on your own for information.

For someone with the skills, a winter descent of Baker is a great ski. It's definitely easier to get good powder off the summit than on Rainier, say.

[wickstad]

Wind slab out in bowl four today. Course with today’s skis it’s still fun.

[wickstad]

Cool vid BFD. Did you summit both in one day or consecutive days? I was going to say that I would think the Sulphide and Shuksan might be a better winter goal. More sensible anyway.

[Bandit Man]

Stevens skied surprisingly well today. Found lots of soft stuff up high with six to ten inches of nice density freshies off of Tye, Seventh, and in Big Chief Bowl. Even found some deep fresh lines in the secret stashes.

Being the first day of multi-week lessons, parking was bonkers. Lots one thru four (free parking) was full about eight o’clock, with long back-ups onto the highway. Lift lines weren’t bad though and never waited more than ten minutes all day. Double Diamond and Seventh were ski-on all day since everyone wants to ski groomers off of Hogs. Oh well, more goods for me and my crew.

Evidence of parking nonsense:

[Dromond]

Stevens skied surprisingly well today. Found lots of soft stuff up high with six to ten inches of nice density freshies off of Tye, Seventh, and in Big Chief Bowl. Even found some deep fresh lines in the secret stashes.

Being the first day of multi-week lessons, parking was bonkers. Lots one thru four (free parking) was full about eight o’clock, with long back-ups onto the highway. Lift lines weren’t bad though and never waited more than ten minutes all day. Double Diamond and Seventh were ski-on all day since everyone wants to ski groomers off of Hogs. Oh well, more goods for me and my crew.

Evidence of parking nonsense:

Your description of parking insanity followed by modest lift lines sounds very similar to xtal yesterday. Driving up I am thinking this is going to be the most insanely busy day of all time. Then, there was short lines most of the day. I think a lot of the crowd are beginner/intermediate skiers so they are necessarily on the more challenging lifts

[BaseFloopy]

Crustal was a lumpy fog bowl early but the snow and vis improved throughout the day. A solid 3.5 out of 10.
I'm guessing the word "variable" will be used frequently in the mountain report over the next week...

[BeardedClam]

I have done a November descent and some spring descents in winter conditions. This is a good year for doing it without a sled. As of last week, it was possible to drive nearly the whole way to the Heliotrope trailhead. I imagine you can get to maybe 3k on the S side too (might be able to find beta if you know someone who has been sledding up there recently). With the warm storms on tap over the next few days, I don't imagine road access will get worse.

Like others said, the main hazards will be crevasses which are bridged by suspect dry snow and potentially wind slab on the Roman wall. The crevasses are a real hazard; there are guaranteed to be some hidden ones. If you can go with someone who has intimate knowledge of the route, that could help you avoid sketchy spots. With this year's good early season precip, some at higher freezing levels, I imagine the standard routes are covered enough.

Boulder ridge is an interesting choice, it's a fair amount more remote, lower starting elev, less traveled, but also involves less glacier travel (if taking the Boulder/Park cleaver ridge) until the top. However, the top of the Boulder glacier is pretty cracked up in summer so be cautious. I would recommend either S side (Easton/Squak) or Coleman-Deming routes for simplicity. Also, note that the upper 3k or so of the mountain is above NWAC's forecast elevation, so you are on your own for information.

For someone with the skills, a winter descent of Baker is a great ski. It's definitely easier to get good powder off the summit than on Rainier, say.

The windstorm wreaked havoc around the area. If you are not going on a main snowmobile access, expect to deal with trees. Plenty of 2'+ timber came down on the north side.

Snowline is basically at white salmon base area right now, maybe 300' below. If theres a 'sno-park' don't drive past it.

I would say your best bet would be to overnight at coleman pinnacle/portals and climb boulder/park headwall. Atleast you would get a view of what you're getting into the whole way to it. Most of the other routes are winding/indirect/undulating which makes it difficult glacier travel. And if the route doesnt go you can get some steep skiing through Park Cliffs

[wickstad]

. Pretty good at Mission still.

[kamtron]

I ventured up onto the Coleman glacier and checked it out. You can drive very close to the trailhead, with a berm at the FSR 39 junction. I walked on the trail with shoes until about 4400' where we skinned. Solid snow starts around 4k but walking was easy travel. We skinned towards Heliotrope, following a friend's track, but up high there was a nasty crust in that area. It seemed like maybe the clouds rimed up the surface and capped the good powder with a breakable ice crust.

We decided to head towards the main glacier to see if it would improve and made it up to about 7500' above the football field. The crust was still evident but much softer with more consolidated snow (old wind buff?) underneath. The standard glacier route seems to be in good shape for early season. There was a solo guy out who appears to have summited and skied down in the early afternoon. We made turns down and found tastier snow lower in some gullies that lead into the forest. My group went out the hiking trail. I heard from my friends that Grouse was good.

[S_jenks]

^ killer pics kamtron, really dig number [emoji638] with the framing.


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[S_jenks]

Day started off real nice up high.



Lower half needs a reset to cover up the coral reef and death cookies.



But the upper half was still sliding nice, even found some chalk in the pit.