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[cohp] Digest Number 5532
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County High Pointing in all 50 states
Yahoo! Groups
County High Pointing in all 50 states Group
5 Messages
Digest #5532
1a
Re: El Capitan by "Dick Ellsworth" quavik
2a
Re: Home Sweet Home by "Dick Ellsworth" quavik
3a
Mount Baker, WA. by "Jobe Wymore"
3b
Re: Mount Baker, WA. by "J W" a2b2c2_345
4
Seeking climbing partners and mountaineering training by "Ken Akerman"

Messages
1a
Re: El Capitan
Thu Jun 8, 2017 7:06 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Dick Ellsworth" quavik
RS: "a good climber, or just foolish"

Probably some of both.

Clif Bars allegedly stopped sponsoring him a couple of years ago because
they felt he was too edgy and didn't want him associated with their brand
name.

I've climbed El Cap three times (w rope) and there's no doubt whatsoever in
my mind he is not a good climber, he's an incredibly gifted one! The
physical ability to do long free routes is one thing, FAR more impressive
is the mental stamina necessary for accomplishing this! This is on a par w
Lynn Hill's first free ascent of El Cap. Both feats are probably 4-5
standard deviations out...

Just my two cents worth, i'll relinquish the soap box
-dick
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2a
Re: Home Sweet Home
Thu Jun 8, 2017 7:16 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Dick Ellsworth" quavik
This doesn't surprise me too much, there are a lot of people scrounging to
get by these days, they just don't have the money to travel. Desire?
Yeah, probably. Money? Not so much.

On a related note, for those of you who have visited Juneau, i was out by
the airport one fine rainy day trying to hitch downtown. Finally got a
ride with a guy who claimed he had not been downtown in 14 months and
thought it would be fun to drive there. I called BS on the guy, but his
reply was so honest i finally changed my mind. He claimed he had
everything he needed in the space between Mendenhall Valley and Eagle
River. Those of you who have been there might be able to empathize...

-dick
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3a
Mount Baker, WA.
Fri Jun 9, 2017 10:03 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"Jobe Wymore"
Mount Baker, Washington.
Whatcom County High Point.
10,781' feet in elevation.
May 27/28, 2017.

January a snarly visit South. In March I ventured to Oklahoma and April I wandered in the Southern & Central Appalachians. May, gazed into the Atlantic from Cape Henlopen Great Dune and peeked into Canada, from the lookout tower atop Lyon Mountain in New York.

But now the end of May had finally arrived and it was time to start the 2017 climbing season. With a brilliant weather forecast I hopped into my Jeep and pointed it northward towards Mount Baker where my copilot Garrett Carlson, jumped in after jumping out of his dorm room in Bellingham, WA. We hadn't seen each other since the previous summer when we (along with Ryder Irvine) were thwarted on Snowshoe Mountain, in MT, due to insufficient gear but none of that was rehashed. A new year, a new day, a new moment.

We'd actually set aside the time around Memorial Day for our potential climb months prior. He'd done a few surrounding peaks recently and had managed to send me a photo or two from the mountaintops but always with Mount Baker being the backdrop. How quickly those images fell out of focus as we plodded up the snow packed road in our chunky Scarpa and La Sportiva boots. We had other things to focus on now like our heavy packs, how lame it was to have to slog the road that others who climb later in the season get to drive and oh(!), let's not forget the hot spots already forming on our baby soft feet. No biggie though, since we only had 8000+ vertical to go.

Eventually we reached the TH and beyond that the boot packed snow trail was easy to follow with only one harrowing step over raging current. We gained elevation moderately and as we did so I knew I'd chosen the right guy for the climb since Garrett was ready to charge. We rolled at a good clip, no letting up till the trees started to thin and then soon after disappeared all together. At this point we had choices. Hmmm, which way to go? I rubbed my alopecia stubbed chin and pondered. The boot tracks scattered but all seemed to generally point in one direction, up. Guess which way we went?

At this point I took over the lead and laden with a heavy pack kicked in steps steeply and directly towards a spine that appeared to have a patch of soil poking out some 400+ vertical feet above. Continuing to make good time we reached this thin, but distinct, ridge line shortly thereafter and pondered our next move. I was actually quite surprised at how quickly we were peeling off distance and contemplated calling it a day a few hundred vertical feet higher at another patch of exposed soil. It was so tempting and the thought of biting into what had been revealed, our first decent campsite option was discussed. The small patch of dirt in what was otherwise a snowy wilderness was needing a bedmate but our desire to continue higher won out.

Garrett now took the lead and a huge steepening snow slope was now his to plant his size 10 1/2s in. I followed with the luxury of now not having to kick steps but simply needing to only lean in on my trekking poles. We continually gazed all around as we willingly continued and immediately noticed a few others up and off to our left quite a ways away, a group of 4. Beyond them in the same direction we now noticed a camp with miniature tents, tiny because of the distance. Still we continued on and shortly there after powered by the others in elevation. Eventually the steepness abated into a huge area the size of a football field where prior parties had set up camp. This was to be our home for the rest of the afternoon and into the night, it taken us only 3 1/2 hours to get here.

Now what were we to do for the rest of the day? I mean, it was only 1 in the afternoon. I'm not used to this concept of just getting into camp and just laying around loafing. Kinda weird. I mean there's nowhere to go. I guess we could have built a snowman, an igloo? Maybe dig a hole in the snow? Staring upward was not an option since it only revealed the hulking mass of Mount Baker which only escalated anticipation - anticipation for the stimulation of the summit. I was ready to go and so was Garrett, but our force march would have to wait till 3:45AM, departure time.

With still several hours to slay till take off we took on customary glacier life. First off up went the tent then in went the gear. Off came the boots then discussion began about route. The main concern was we'd both never been here before and we'd both anticipated a stockpile of people but there was no one. Nobody. Not even a bird. Sure there were the camps lower but nothing else. Soon after 2 skiers came pushing by and upwards they went. We now also saw a larger group of about 10 descending way up high. I guess we weren't as alone as we thought.

Hours later while Garrett and I were melting snow for tomorrow's climb one of the skiers came down. He said, "they only went to the saddle" and were just out for the day, his buddy from Colorado. He mentioned the snow was great and there was only "one tiny crevasse that needed to be stepped over but if you were to look down you could probably see bedrock quite for quite a ways". We chatted about the route and he provided some great beta - what more could we ask for?

Well, that was quickly answered as that massive group of 10 came marching by 100 yards away leaving a slaughtered gouge of snow in their wake. The marked trail was definitely in now!

After brewing snow and retreating to the tent we took on the calories. What I really should of said was Garrett took on the calories. See, Garrett is a young lad, 19 years old. Tall, lanky and like most college kids motored through food. I offered him this, offered him that, he ate this, he ate that. The dude can eat. I asked him if anybody ever sneaks each others food in the dorm he resides in as he scooped peanut butter into his mouth. "Nope", was his reply and I knew why instantly cause there's no way food would last that long exposed to thievery. Food in Garrett's dorm had no more that 10 seconds of shelf life.

I meanwhile snacked on a personal sized loaf of sourdough that I had picked up from the bakery. I considered this option due to not wanting anything in the belly that might want to come screaming out the next day while clinging to The Roman Wall. I'd already took a huge risk being tempted into the Chinese buffet the previous night in Everett, which could have single handily ended the trip before it ever begun because of that extra helping of sauted green beans.

What seemed like an eternity later had that guided group of four come wandering by. They set up camp about 80 yards away and shortly the guide came over to chat. They were planning on leaving around 4AM and inquired if I knew anything about the weather forecast. I reassured him it looked solid since I'd just recently had been able to connect with data provided out of Canada. I also took the liberty to log into Peakbagger, seeing what everyone else had been up to today.

We dozed and woke to the sounds of others nearby scuffing in the blackness of night. It was a bit earlier than we had planned to get up but "there&#39;s no point in procrastinating the inevitable" so the unzipping of the sleeping bags started it all. It didn't take long and we soon found ourselves out in the night wrestling our harnesses into place and cinching up our crampons as the snow had firmed up icily and was slicker than a luge run. Up ahead we saw 2 headlamps topping out on the first wall of snow that needed to be battled out of camp. There also was a few other tents now, all aglow.

Deciding that no rope was needed at this point in the game we wandered off in the night, the light from our headlamps leading the way. We aimed for the snow scar that was left by yesterdays group and drifted into deliberate steady pace. "No hurry", I told Garrett, and assured him we would be stronger than most on this hill. The only ones who would summit before us on this day were the 2 in front who had quite the lead.

Slow and steady we continued up and as the light started to burn the sky it exposed tyrannically jagged peaks north of us in Canada. We passed though a debris field littered with massive chunks of depleted avalanche which I suspect occurred many moons before. Once it appeared we were drawing nearer to a few yawning seracs we roped up and shortly there after stepped over the crevasse that was verbally exposed the day before. We could see the 2 in front had reached the saddle (also mentioned the day before) so the direction to go was obvious.

Roughly two hours later from leaving camp we arrived at "the saddle" and put on an extra layer to protect us from the morning breeze. The winds, there's no way I can complain about them on our day up there since they were minor at best and the sky held nothing but blue.

Down below the route looked like it was going to be steep but once we arrived and had an up close chance to analyze our predicament it turned out not to be as bad as we thought. Where we now stood the obvious way up was to stay dead center on a thick ridge that eventually would intersect with the crux of the route known as The Roman Wall. Sure it was steeper than the previous terrain we had been on but we figured that the top was no more than 1500-1700 feet above with only this ridge and The Roman Wall between us and success.

The two individuals we'd been tracking were seen above angling to the right on The Roman Wall, and it looked kinda steep from below. We also noticed they were carrying skis - tough.

As for ourselves, we continued ever upward reaching a wall even the The Romans never thought existed - in cold shadow we periodically front pointed up the slope deviating when allowed. There were boot marks to get some footing but the texture of the snow was not something you'd want to slip on nor was the distance/gradient below us something you'd want to slide down. It was comforting to know that the summit was so close and only careful confidence was needed to win out.

Many steady toe steps later the slope eased and as it flattened out we could see the top of Mount Baker, only a quarter of a mile away. Shortly there after we stood on top and shook hands. Whew -

Upon arrival we were greeted by the two we followed for the past 3 1/2 hours. It was 7AM on the nose and the 2 others told us they had climbed all of Baker in one swoop having left their car in the dark. We took a few photos and one of them asked, "are you father and son"?

How funny! Like I mentioned earlier Garrett is 19, myself, well, a ripening 44. I'd never had a kid before and quickly told them that sure, I'd adopt Garrett since he's on scholarship so wouldn't require much pain to be inflicted on my bank account. I always take my own welfare into consideration first because otherwise someone might consider me unselfish and I wouldn't want that.

But what Garrett and I both wanted was decent so after our brief stint atop Mount Baker, retreat. Time to undo what we spent a total of 7 climbing hours doing.

Once we were able to look down The Roman Wall we now saw an Army of foot soldiers homing on our ascent route waaaaay down below. There were many but only two were attached to the lower ramparts of The Roman Wall. We didn't have others to contend with so we descended the shadowy expanse uncontested. Further down we exchanged glances with other climbers and the ones that came our way appeared envious. I was grateful it wasn't I in their boots since mine were pointed down, theres still pointing up in what was softening snow. Descending The Roman Wall in soft snow while wearing boots with crampons I'm sure is quite the experience and overrated. We had solid styrofoam that eliminated the worry of footing giving away. They still had war to wage.

Good uneventful time was made and quickly after breaking camp we set off passing a multitude of tents that were piled up near yesterdays soil patches lower down. The broken snow bridge that was needed to allow passage over the raging current had gotten worse. Thank goodness we were on site when we were as I wouldn't have wanted to contend with this safety concern as it continued to deteriorate. Around noon we arrived back to my Jeep, I swallowing a hard tangerine cider, still cold. Tasty.

It was a good way to start the 2017 climbing season. Mount Baker marked my 380th "Western Contig" out of the 414 needed to complete, that dream still a ways off. For Garrett, it was his first foray into (onto?) sustained glacier travel. Our route up the Coleman-Demming a wise choice. Will I ever go back? Probably not. I'm glad it's over and I'm glad to have done it with Garrett. We got many peaks ahead of us, him more than me, with this one now just a positive memory.

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3b
Re: Mount Baker, WA.
Fri Jun 9, 2017 10:39 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"J W" a2b2c2_345
Excellent read Jobe...thoroughly enjoyed the words to include the humor...you write well.  Congrats on the Baker ascent.
My big western crux is Mount Jefferson...for that is standing in the way of an Oregon state completion.
Cheers,
Jim Retemeyer

From: "Jobe Wymore lunasoars@aol.com [cohp]" <cohp@yahoogroups.com>
To: cohp@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, June 9, 2017 10:03 AM
Subject: [cohp] Mount Baker, WA.

  Mount Baker, Washington.
Whatcom County High Point.
10,781' feet in elevation.
May 27/28, 2017.

January a snarly visit South. In March I ventured to Oklahoma and April I wandered in the Southern & Central Appalachians. May, gazed into the Atlantic from Cape Henlopen Great Dune and peeked into Canada, from the lookout tower atop Lyon Mountain in New York.

But now the end of May had finally arrived and it was time to start the 2017 climbing season. With a brilliant weather forecast I hopped into my Jeep and pointed it northward towards Mount Baker where my copilot Garrett Carlson, jumped in after jumping out of his dorm room in Bellingham, WA. We hadn't seen each other since the previous summer when we (along with Ryder Irvine) were thwarted on Snowshoe Mountain, in MT, due to insufficient gear but none of that was rehashed. A new year, a new day, a new moment.

We'd actually set aside the time around Memorial Day for our potential climb months prior. He'd done a few surrounding peaks recently and had managed to send me a photo or two from the mountaintops but always with Mount Baker being the backdrop. How quickly those images fell out of focus as we plodded up the snow packed road in our chunky Scarpa and La Sportiva boots. We had other things to focus on now like our heavy packs, how lame it was to have to slog the road that others who climb later in the season get to drive and oh(!), let's not forget the hot spots already forming on our baby soft feet. No biggie though, since we only had 8000+ vertical to go.

Eventually we reached the TH and beyond that the boot packed snow trail was easy to follow with only one harrowing step over raging current. We gained elevation moderately and as we did so I knew I'd chosen the right guy for the climb since Garrett was ready to charge. We rolled at a good clip, no letting up till the trees started to thin and then soon after disappeared all together. At this point we had choices. Hmmm, which way to go? I rubbed my alopecia stubbed chin and pondered. The boot tracks scattered but all seemed to generally point in one direction, up. Guess which way we went?

At this point I took over the lead and laden with a heavy pack kicked in steps steeply and directly towards a spine that appeared to have a patch of soil poking out some 400+ vertical feet above. Continuing to make good time we reached this thin, but distinct, ridge line shortly thereafter and pondered our next move. I was actually quite surprised at how quickly we were peeling off distance and contemplated calling it a day a few hundred vertical feet higher at another patch of exposed soil. It was so tempting and the thought of biting into what had been revealed, our first decent campsite option was discussed. The small patch of dirt in what was otherwise a snowy wilderness was needing a bedmate but our desire to continue higher won out.

Garrett now took the lead and a huge steepening snow slope was now his to plant his size 10 1/2s in. I followed with the luxury of now not having to kick steps but simply needing to only lean in on my trekking poles. We continually gazed all around as we willingly continued and immediately noticed a few others up and off to our left quite a ways away, a group of 4. Beyond them in the same direction we now noticed a camp with miniature tents, tiny because of the distance. Still we continued on and shortly there after powered by the others in elevation. Eventually the steepness abated into a huge area the size of a football field where prior parties had set up camp. This was to be our home for the rest of the afternoon and into the night, it taken us only 3 1/2 hours to get here.

Now what were we to do for the rest of the day? I mean, it was only 1 in the afternoon. I'm not used to this concept of just getting into camp and just laying around loafing. Kinda weird. I mean there's nowhere to go. I guess we could have built a snowman, an igloo? Maybe dig a hole in the snow? Staring upward was not an option since it only revealed the hulking mass of Mount Baker which only escalated anticipation - anticipation for the stimulation of the summit. I was ready to go and so was Garrett, but our force march would have to wait till 3:45AM, departure time.

With still several hours to slay till take off we took on customary glacier life. First off up went the tent then in went the gear. Off came the boots then discussion began about route. The main concern was we'd both never been here before and we'd both anticipated a stockpile of people but there was no one. Nobody. Not even a bird. Sure there were the camps lower but nothing else. Soon after 2 skiers came pushing by and upwards they went. We now also saw a larger group of about 10 descending way up high. I guess we weren't as alone as we thought.

Hours later while Garrett and I were melting snow for tomorrow's climb one of the skiers came down. He said, "they only went to the saddle" and were just out for the day, his buddy from Colorado. He mentioned the snow was great and there was only "one tiny crevasse that needed to be stepped over but if you were to look down you could probably see bedrock quite for quite a ways". We chatted about the route and he provided some great beta - what more could we ask for?

Well, that was quickly answered as that massive group of 10 came marching by 100 yards away leaving a slaughtered gouge of snow in their wake. The marked trail was definitely in now!

After brewing snow and retreating to the tent we took on the calories. What I really should of said was Garrett took on the calories. See, Garrett is a young lad, 19 years old. Tall, lanky and like most college kids motored through food. I offered him this, offered him that, he ate this, he ate that. The dude can eat. I asked him if anybody ever sneaks each others food in the dorm he resides in as he scooped peanut butter into his mouth. "Nope", was his reply and I knew why instantly cause there's no way food would last that long exposed to thievery. Food in Garrett's dorm had no more that 10 seconds of shelf life.

I meanwhile snacked on a personal sized loaf of sourdough that I had picked up from the bakery. I considered this option due to not wanting anything in the belly that might want to come screaming out the next day while clinging to The Roman Wall. I'd already took a huge risk being tempted into the Chinese buffet the previous night in Everett, which could have single handily ended the trip before it ever begun because of that extra helping of sauted green beans.

What seemed like an eternity later had that guided group of four come wandering by. They set up camp about 80 yards away and shortly the guide came over to chat. They were planning on leaving around 4AM and inquired if I knew anything about the weather forecast. I reassured him it looked solid since I'd just recently had been able to connect with data provided out of Canada. I also took the liberty to log into Peakbagger, seeing what everyone else had been up to today.

We dozed and woke to the sounds of others nearby scuffing in the blackness of night. It was a bit earlier than we had planned to get up but "there&#39;s no point in procrastinating the inevitable" so the unzipping of the sleeping bags started it all. It didn't take long and we soon found ourselves out in the night wrestling our harnesses into place and cinching up our crampons as the snow had firmed up icily and was slicker than a luge run. Up ahead we saw 2 headlamps topping out on the first wall of snow that needed to be battled out of camp. There also was a few other tents now, all aglow.

Deciding that no rope was needed at this point in the game we wandered off in the night, the light from our headlamps leading the way. We aimed for the snow scar that was left by yesterdays group and drifted into deliberate steady pace. "No hurry", I told Garrett, and assured him we would be stronger than most on this hill. The only ones who would summit before us on this day were the 2 in front who had quite the lead.

Slow and steady we continued up and as the light started to burn the sky it exposed tyrannically jagged peaks north of us in Canada. We passed though a debris field littered with massive chunks of depleted avalanche which I suspect occurred many moons before. Once it appeared we were drawing nearer to a few yawning seracs we roped up and shortly there after stepped over the crevasse that was verbally exposed the day before. We could see the 2 in front had reached the saddle (also mentioned the day before) so the direction to go was obvious.

Roughly two hours later from leaving camp we arrived at "the saddle" and put on an extra layer to protect us from the morning breeze. The winds, there's no way I can complain about them on our day up there since they were minor at best and the sky held nothing but blue.

Down below the route looked like it was going to be steep but once we arrived and had an up close chance to analyze our predicament it turned out not to be as bad as we thought. Where we now stood the obvious way up was to stay dead center on a thick ridge that eventually would intersect with the crux of the route known as The Roman Wall. Sure it was steeper than the previous terrain we had been on but we figured that the top was no more than 1500-1700 feet above with only this ridge and The Roman Wall between us and success.

The two individuals we'd been tracking were seen above angling to the right on The Roman Wall, and it looked kinda steep from below. We also noticed they were carrying skis - tough.

As for ourselves, we continued ever upward reaching a wall even the The Romans never thought existed - in cold shadow we periodically front pointed up the slope deviating when allowed. There were boot marks to get some footing but the texture of the snow was not something you'd want to slip on nor was the distance/gradient below us something you'd want to slide down. It was comforting to know that the summit was so close and only careful confidence was needed to win out.

Many steady toe steps later the slope eased and as it flattened out we could see the top of Mount Baker, only a quarter of a mile away. Shortly there after we stood on top and shook hands. Whew -

Upon arrival we were greeted by the two we followed for the past 3 1/2 hours. It was 7AM on the nose and the 2 others told us they had climbed all of Baker in one swoop having left their car in the dark. We took a few photos and one of them asked, "are you father and son"?

How funny! Like I mentioned earlier Garrett is 19, myself, well, a ripening 44. I'd never had a kid before and quickly told them that sure, I'd adopt Garrett since he's on scholarship so wouldn't require much pain to be inflicted on my bank account. I always take my own welfare into consideration first because otherwise someone might consider me unselfish and I wouldn't want that.

But what Garrett and I both wanted was decent so after our brief stint atop Mount Baker, retreat. Time to undo what we spent a total of 7 climbing hours doing.

Once we were able to look down The Roman Wall we now saw an Army of foot soldiers homing on our ascent route waaaaay down below. There were many but only two were attached to the lower ramparts of The Roman Wall. We didn't have others to contend with so we descended the shadowy expanse uncontested. Further down we exchanged glances with other climbers and the ones that came our way appeared envious. I was grateful it wasn't I in their boots since mine were pointed down, theres still pointing up in what was softening snow. Descending The Roman Wall in soft snow while wearing boots with crampons I'm sure is quite the experience and overrated. We had solid styrofoam that eliminated the worry of footing giving away. They still had war to wage.

Good uneventful time was made and quickly after breaking camp we set off passing a multitude of tents that were piled up near yesterdays soil patches lower down. The broken snow bridge that was needed to allow passage over the raging current had gotten worse. Thank goodness we were on site when we were as I wouldn't have wanted to contend with this safety concern as it continued to deteriorate. Around noon we arrived back to my Jeep, I swallowing a hard tangerine cider, still cold. Tasty.

It was a good way to start the 2017 climbing season. Mount Baker marked my 380th "Western Contig" out of the 414 needed to complete, that dream still a ways off. For Garrett, it was his first foray into (onto?) sustained glacier travel. Our route up the Coleman-Demming a wise choice. Will I ever go back? Probably not. I'm glad it's over and I'm glad to have done it with Garrett. We got many peaks ahead of us, him more than me, with this one now just a positive memory.

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4
Seeking climbing partners and mountaineering training
Fri Jun 9, 2017 10:58 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"Ken Akerman"
Thank you for posting this.

I live in Renton, WA and I would like to climb Mount Baker, and other
peaks. I am seeking climbing partners to climb.

Also, I have climbed with ropes in the past, but I don't know how to
independently set up rope and anchor systems without assistance. This is
very disconcerting to me, and I would like to receive some training and
assistance to enable me to become safe and proficient at these important
skills. Most people in this group is apparently more proficient in
mountaineering skills than I am, so that I why I am reaching out for help.

Therefore, I am seeking the assistance of anyone in this group who is
knowledgeable about setting up rope and anchor systems for mountaineering,
and help train me in advanced mountaineering. I am willing to travel to
meet you, and pay a reasonable amount for this service.

Please contact me via direct email to Ken.Akerman@gmail.com or cell
480-628-5575. We can also do video conferencing on Skype.

Ken

On Fri, Jun 9, 2017 at 10:35 AM, J W a2b2c2_345@yahoo.com [cohp] <
cohp@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

>
>
> Excellent read Jobe...thoroughly enjoyed the words to include the
> humor...you write well. Congrats on the Baker ascent.
>
> My big western crux is Mount Jefferson...for that is standing in the way
> of an Oregon state completion.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Jim Retemeyer
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* "Jobe Wymore lunasoars@aol.com [cohp]" <cohp@yahoogroups.com>
> *To:* cohp@yahoogroups.com
> *Sent:* Friday, June 9, 2017 10:03 AM
> *Subject:* [cohp] Mount Baker, WA.
>
>
> Mount Baker, Washington.
> Whatcom County High Point.
> 10,781' feet in elevation.
> May 27/28, 2017.
>
> January a snarly visit South. In March I ventured to Oklahoma and April I
> wandered in the Southern & Central Appalachians. May, gazed into the
> Atlantic from Cape Henlopen Great Dune and peeked into Canada, from the
> lookout tower atop Lyon Mountain in New York.
>
> But now the end of May had finally arrived and it was time to start the
> 2017 climbing season. With a brilliant weather forecast I hopped into my
> Jeep and pointed it northward towards Mount Baker where my copilot Garrett
> Carlson, jumped in after jumping out of his dorm room in Bellingham, WA. We
> hadn't seen each other since the previous summer when we (along with Ryder
> Irvine) were thwarted on Snowshoe Mountain, in MT, due to insufficient gear
> but none of that was rehashed. A new year, a new day, a new moment.
>
> We'd actually set aside the time around Memorial Day for our potential
> climb months prior. He'd done a few surrounding peaks recently and had
> managed to send me a photo or two from the mountaintops but always with
> Mount Baker being the backdrop. How quickly those images fell out of focus
> as we plodded up the snow packed road in our chunky Scarpa and La Sportiva
> boots. We had other things to focus on now like our heavy packs, how lame
> it was to have to slog the road that others who climb later in the season
> get to drive and oh(!), let's not forget the hot spots already forming on
> our baby soft feet. No biggie though, since we only had 8000+ vertical to
> go.
>
> Eventually we reached the TH and beyond that the boot packed snow trail
> was easy to follow with only one harrowing step over raging current. We
> gained elevation moderately and as we did so I knew I'd chosen the right
> guy for the climb since Garrett was ready to charge. We rolled at a good
> clip, no letting up till the trees started to thin and then soon after
> disappeared all together. At this point we had choices. Hmmm, which way to
> go? I rubbed my alopecia stubbed chin and pondered. The boot tracks
> scattered but all seemed to generally point in one direction, up. Guess
> which way we went?
>
> At this point I took over the lead and laden with a heavy pack kicked in
> steps steeply and directly towards a spine that appeared to have a patch of
> soil poking out some 400+ vertical feet above. Continuing to make good time
> we reached this thin, but distinct, ridge line shortly thereafter and
> pondered our next move. I was actually quite surprised at how quickly we
> were peeling off distance and contemplated calling it a day a few hundred
> vertical feet higher at another patch of exposed soil. It was so tempting
> and the thought of biting into what had been revealed, our first decent
> campsite option was discussed. The small patch of dirt in what was
> otherwise a snowy wilderness was needing a bedmate but our desire to
> continue higher won out.
>
> Garrett now took the lead and a huge steepening snow slope was now his to
> plant his size 10 1/2s in. I followed with the luxury of now not having to
> kick steps but simply needing to only lean in on my trekking poles. We
> continually gazed all around as we willingly continued and immediately
> noticed a few others up and off to our left quite a ways away, a group of
> 4. Beyond them in the same direction we now noticed a camp with miniature
> tents, tiny because of the distance. Still we continued on and shortly
> there after powered by the others in elevation. Eventually the steepness
> abated into a huge area the size of a football field where prior parties
> had set up camp. This was to be our home for the rest of the afternoon and
> into the night, it taken us only 3 1/2 hours to get here.
>
> Now what were we to do for the rest of the day? I mean, it was only 1 in
> the afternoon. I'm not used to this concept of just getting into camp and
> just laying around loafing. Kinda weird. I mean there's nowhere to go. I
> guess we could have built a snowman, an igloo? Maybe dig a hole in the
> snow? Staring upward was not an option since it only revealed the hulking
> mass of Mount Baker which only escalated anticipation - anticipation for
> the stimulation of the summit. I was ready to go and so was Garrett, but
> our force march would have to wait till 3:45AM, departure time.
>
> With still several hours to slay till take off we took on customary
> glacier life. First off up went the tent then in went the gear. Off came
> the boots then discussion began about route. The main concern was we'd both
> never been here before and we'd both anticipated a stockpile of people but
> there was no one. Nobody. Not even a bird. Sure there were the camps lower
> but nothing else. Soon after 2 skiers came pushing by and upwards they
> went. We now also saw a larger group of about 10 descending way up high. I
> guess we weren't as alone as we thought.
>
> Hours later while Garrett and I were melting snow for tomorrow's climb one
> of the skiers came down. He said, "they only went to the saddle" and were
> just out for the day, his buddy from Colorado. He mentioned the snow was
> great and there was only "one tiny crevasse that needed to be stepped over
> but if you were to look down you could probably see bedrock quite for quite
> a ways". We chatted about the route and he provided some great beta - what
> more could we ask for?
>
> Well, that was quickly answered as that massive group of 10 came marching
> by 100 yards away leaving a slaughtered gouge of snow in their wake. The
> marked trail was definitely in now!
>
> After brewing snow and retreating to the tent we took on the calories.
> What I really should of said was Garrett took on the calories. See, Garrett
> is a young lad, 19 years old. Tall, lanky and like most college kids
> motored through food. I offered him this, offered him that, he ate this, he
> ate that. The dude can eat. I asked him if anybody ever sneaks each others
> food in the dorm he resides in as he scooped peanut butter into his mouth.
> "Nope", was his reply and I knew why instantly cause there's no way food
> would last that long exposed to thievery. Food in Garrett's dorm had no
> more that 10 seconds of shelf life.
>
> I meanwhile snacked on a personal sized loaf of sourdough that I had
> picked up from the bakery. I considered this option due to not wanting
> anything in the belly that might want to come screaming out the next day
> while clinging to The Roman Wall. I'd already took a huge risk being
> tempted into the Chinese buffet the previous night in Everett, which could
> have single handily ended the trip before it ever begun because of that
> extra helping of sauted green beans.
>
> What seemed like an eternity later had that guided group of four come
> wandering by. They set up camp about 80 yards away and shortly the guide
> came over to chat. They were planning on leaving around 4AM and inquired if
> I knew anything about the weather forecast. I reassured him it looked solid
> since I'd just recently had been able to connect with data provided out of
> Canada. I also took the liberty to log into Peakbagger, seeing what
> everyone else had been up to today.
>
> We dozed and woke to the sounds of others nearby scuffing in the blackness
> of night. It was a bit earlier than we had planned to get up but "there&#39;s
> no point in procrastinating the inevitable" so the unzipping of the
> sleeping bags started it all. It didn't take long and we soon found
> ourselves out in the night wrestling our harnesses into place and cinching
> up our crampons as the snow had firmed up icily and was slicker than a luge
> run. Up ahead we saw 2 headlamps topping out on the first wall of snow that
> needed to be battled out of camp. There also was a few other tents now, all
> aglow.
>
> Deciding that no rope was needed at this point in the game we wandered off
> in the night, the light from our headlamps leading the way. We aimed for
> the snow scar that was left by yesterdays group and drifted into deliberate
> steady pace. "No hurry", I told Garrett, and assured him we would be
> stronger than most on this hill. The only ones who would summit before us
> on this day were the 2 in front who had quite the lead.
>
> Slow and steady we continued up and as the light started to burn the sky
> it exposed tyrannically jagged peaks north of us in Canada. We passed
> though a debris field littered with massive chunks of depleted avalanche
> which I suspect occurred many moons before. Once it appeared we were
> drawing nearer to a few yawning seracs we roped up and shortly there after
> stepped over the crevasse that was verbally exposed the day before. We
> could see the 2 in front had reached the saddle (also mentioned the day
> before) so the direction to go was obvious.
>
> Roughly two hours later from leaving camp we arrived at "the saddle" and
> put on an extra layer to protect us from the morning breeze. The winds,
> there's no way I can complain about them on our day up there since they
> were minor at best and the sky held nothing but blue.
>
> Down below the route looked like it was going to be steep but once we
> arrived and had an up close chance to analyze our predicament it turned out
> not to be as bad as we thought. Where we now stood the obvious way up was
> to stay dead center on a thick ridge that eventually would intersect with
> the crux of the route known as The Roman Wall. Sure it was steeper than the
> previous terrain we had been on but we figured that the top was no more
> than 1500-1700 feet above with only this ridge and The Roman Wall between
> us and success.
>
> The two individuals we'd been tracking were seen above angling to the
> right on The Roman Wall, and it looked kinda steep from below. We also
> noticed they were carrying skis - tough.
>
> As for ourselves, we continued ever upward reaching a wall even the The
> Romans never thought existed - in cold shadow we periodically front pointed
> up the slope deviating when allowed. There were boot marks to get some
> footing but the texture of the snow was not something you'd want to slip on
> nor was the distance/gradient below us something you'd want to slide down.
> It was comforting to know that the summit was so close and only careful
> confidence was needed to win out.
>
> Many steady toe steps later the slope eased and as it flattened out we
> could see the top of Mount Baker, only a quarter of a mile away. Shortly
> there after we stood on top and shook hands. Whew -
>
> Upon arrival we were greeted by the two we followed for the past 3 1/2
> hours. It was 7AM on the nose and the 2 others told us they had climbed all
> of Baker in one swoop having left their car in the dark. We took a few
> photos and one of them asked, "are you father and son"?
>
> How funny! Like I mentioned earlier Garrett is 19, myself, well, a
> ripening 44. I'd never had a kid before and quickly told them that sure,
> I'd adopt Garrett since he's on scholarship so wouldn't require much pain
> to be inflicted on my bank account. I always take my own welfare into
> consideration first because otherwise someone might consider me unselfish
> and I wouldn't want that.
>
> But what Garrett and I both wanted was decent so after our brief stint
> atop Mount Baker, retreat. Time to undo what we spent a total of 7 climbing
> hours doing.
>
> Once we were able to look down The Roman Wall we now saw an Army of foot
> soldiers homing on our ascent route waaaaay down below. There were many but
> only two were attached to the lower ramparts of The Roman Wall. We didn't
> have others to contend with so we descended the shadowy expanse
> uncontested. Further down we exchanged glances with other climbers and the
> ones that came our way appeared envious. I was grateful it wasn't I in
> their boots since mine were pointed down, theres still pointing up in what
> was softening snow. Descending The Roman Wall in soft snow while wearing
> boots with crampons I'm sure is quite the experience and overrated. We had
> solid styrofoam that eliminated the worry of footing giving away. They
> still had war to wage.
>
> Good uneventful time was made and quickly after breaking camp we set off
> passing a multitude of tents that were piled up near yesterdays soil
> patches lower down. The broken snow bridge that was needed to allow passage
> over the raging current had gotten worse. Thank goodness we were on site
> when we were as I wouldn't have wanted to contend with this safety concern
> as it continued to deteriorate. Around noon we arrived back to my Jeep, I
> swallowing a hard tangerine cider, still cold. Tasty.
>
> It was a good way to start the 2017 climbing season. Mount Baker marked my
> 380th "Western Contig" out of the 414 needed to complete, that dream still
> a ways off. For Garrett, it was his first foray into (onto?) sustained
> glacier travel. Our route up the Coleman-Demming a wise choice. Will I ever
> go back? Probably not. I'm glad it's over and I'm glad to have done it with
> Garrett. We got many peaks ahead of us, him more than me, with this one now
> just a positive memory.
>
>
>
>
>
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