Memorial day weekend was upon us, with so many activities to choose from! So many destinations to select from! Audra was visiting from California, Helene was at the tail end of a volcano skiing rampage, and Becca was excited to notch another Cascade classic in her ski mountaineering belt-erm-harness. The stage was set to ski Mount Baker via the Squak.
Prologue: Ever hungry for an overnight mission, I set out on Thursday night for Shuksan arm, with my big film camera in tow. Despite overcast skies and some sprinkles coming up the highway around 6pm, I put my faith in the National Weather service and skied up to to the top of the arm, and enjoyed a beautiful sunset on Shuksan. I stayed up as it got dark taking more photos and setting up a star trail shot on slide film, which also involved getting up at 3 am, before it got light, to close the shutter, then getting up at 5 for sunrise - not enough sleep! I just got my film back from the lab and will send some of those shots out once I scan them, but in the meantime, here are some digital snaps.
Sunset on Shuksan
Clear skies above Larrabee and the Border Peaks
Baker at dusk
Last Alpenglow on Shuksan.
Act I: Our Californian companions’ flight into town was tragically delayed, which made what was already going to be a brief night of sleep even briefer. We didn’t get home from the airport until after midnight, and with a 1:50 am wake-up call to start driving to Schreibers Meadow, we only about an hour of sleep - a perfect start to the day. We piled into the car bleary eyed, and rolled north under starry skies to rendezvous with Helene (who herself was coming off a crazy day - ask her about it!). We set off from the trailhead at first light, along with plenty of other folks with the same idea. We started skinning as we left the Scott Paul Trail, and cruised up into the alpine as some clouds started to swirl around the upper mountain.
Superhighway up towards the Sauk, with Sherman Peak hiding the true summit of Baker
Visibility came in and out on the glacier, but morale remained high!
Passing the big ‘schrund just below the crater
I hadn’t been up any of the south side routes before, so I was excited to peer into the crater and listen to the hissing fumaroles
Becca, Audra, and Helene attacking the Roman Wall
I was really proud of Becca for doing a great job skiing the Roman Wall despite being intimidated by it!
Catching up with a party on foot
Every ski descent requires some rest breaks. Some unplanned…
…and some a bit more deliberate!
Cruising the lower Squak with some seracs poking out
Epilogue: After returning to the car, we said goodbye to Audra, who headed back to Seattle for some well-earned rest, while Helene and Becca and I nipped over to Sauk Mountain to catch the sunset. We headed up the many pleasant switchbacks, with a great view over the confluence of the Skagit and Sauk rivers, and enjoyed an easy night of mellow camping before heading home.
Sunset over the Sauk and Skagit
Shuksan looking nice in the evening light
Eldorado in the morning
On the way out we got a great view of this grouse doing its grousy thing
Helene and Becca with Whitehorse in the distance
Morning dew on a nice patch of Phlox
Descending the many Sauky switchbacks