Trip Report: Climbing Koma Kulshan (Mt. Baker), North Cascades — WA
Trip Date: August 13–15, 2021
Trip Details
I signed up to fundraise for Bay Area Wilderness Training (BAWT) as part of an all women climbing team. BAWT is an Oakland-based nonprofit that strives to create more equity and increase access to the outdoors for traditionally underrepresented communities, prioritizing services for low-income youth and youth of color. In the BAWT “Adventures for Kids” Fundraising Program, you can select to go on a guided backpacking trip with one of their partners after reaching your fundraising goal. We selected the 3-day Mt. Baker guided climb with American Alpine Institute (AAI). After two years (a very awkward period of fundraising during a pandemic), we raised $21,000.00 to support kids outdoors!
On the AAI website, Mt. Baker with it’s 10,781-foot summit …“ is the highest point in northern Washington and offers commanding views of Vancouver, the San Juans, and the North Cascades.” It’s a glacier-covered, active volcano (though it last erupted in the 1800s), with a thermally active crater. The climb to the summit is a technical one, requiring the use of crampons, ice axe, and navigating crevasses and snow bridges as part of a rope team. We did not have any prior alpine mountaineering experience and depended on our guides to teach us the skills necessary to navigate this mountain and it’s challenging terrain.
In late August, the Coleman-Deming route was closed due to hazardous hanging ice on Colfax peak. Because of this, our guides opted to take us to the summit via the Easton glacier route, the second most popular route, and the one I’ll describe here.
Getting There: From Bellingham, it is roughly a 1.5 hr drive to the trailhead. The road leads to a gravel road with occasional potholes. I would recommend driving a vehicle with high clearance for a smoother ride. Roads leading to trailhead are subject to seasonal closure. Make sure you check before leaving!
Parking: There is a large dirt parking lot when you turn into the trailhead. Bathroom and trash available.
Trail Details: Easton Glacier Route
Trail length: 13.8 miles, out and back
Elevation Change: 7,391 ft
Weather: Smoky (AQI 150+), 80s/high 50s
Day 1: Friday, August 13, 2021
At 7:00AM we arrived at the AAI office. Our two guides were waiting outside on a small lawn adjacent to the office building. A tarp was laid out in front and we were asked to unload our gear and “explode” it onto the tarp for a detailed gear check.
As we unpacked our things, we went around in a circle to introduce ourselves one at a time. Our two female guides introduced themselves as Lauren and Mia. Lauren cheerfully showed us her middle finger, where a small mountain was delicately tattooed across the side. It was a tattoo of Mt. Baker, the mountain that started it all for her as a guide. This was her first year guiding, though Mt. Baker was in her hometown, and she had navigated it’s terrain multiple times. Mia, one certification away from becoming an IFMGA guide, never climbed Mt. Baker but had many years of experience under her belt. Her last memorable climb was with another all women group, who summited Denali during a weather window. They were the only group that day who summited. An inspiring pair!
Once introductions were out of the way, all our gear rented and packed, we hopped into our cars and anxiously made our way to the trailhead. As we drove deeper into the wilderness, smoke and haze from nearby fires started to burn our nostrils and visibly thicken the air. A quick google informed us that the AQI was over 200. We collectively slumped. Will we still be able to do this?
Mia greeted us when we arrived at the trailhead. “How’s everyone feeling?”, she said with a smile.
“We’re a little concerned about the air quality. Will it be okay?” Angela asked with hesitation.
“It’ll only get better as we go up!” said Mia, not even giving the smoke a second thought. Well, alrighty then!
It was an oppressively hot day, made worse by the smoke. Huge biting flies flew around sluggishly, almost as if the heat and smoke affected them the same as us. Nevertheless, we donned our packs and took our first steps onto the trail toward Mt. Baker.
The first portion of the trail was a gentle climb through forested meadows sprinkled with wildflowers. We stepped over two small water crossings with ease. About a mile in however, Rocky Creek bulldozed over any ideas that all the water crossings would be easy. The river looked swollen, ostensibly multiple times its usual size. A bridge meant to be used to cross the entirety of the river sat petitely in the middle, with water rushing passed on both sides, inaccessible and mocking. You could hear the sounds of boulders being moved downstream by the power of the current.
Lauren expertly skipped to and fro on rocks as she debated which path would keep us the driest. We unclipped our backpack straps and one by one, she instructed us where to step, lending each of us her hand for stability. She basically picked me up and put me on the other side of the river, safe and sound.
Once we all made it over, we were notified this would be the last water source before camp. Some members of the group had to purify and drink the sludgy-looking brown water. It was described as tasting “fresh but slightly crunchy”!
A forested uphill area full of switchbacks was next on the docket.
Following the switchbacks was another meadow.
A short, steep climb at the tail-end of this section led us on to the railroad grade ridge line, the final portion of the hike which led straight into Sandy Camp; our basecamp. On one side of the ridge was the lush forest we’d just traversed, a shade of bright green that one would be hard-pressed to find in California. The other side was a contrasting lateral moraine: dirt, rubble, and rock meeting the beginnings of Easton glacier, sloping up towards Mt. Baker with it’s peak looming in the distance.
The trail here was narrow in some parts; steep drops on either side meant an unpleasant tumble if we took a misstep. On the way, we spotted a couple of tubby olympic marmots playing and lurking flat-bellied on rocks! I learned that they communicate to each other through high-pitch whistling noises of varying frequencies.
Finally, we turned a corner and left the railroad behind in exchange for the flat ground of Sandy Camp. From here, it would be a roughly five thousand feet climb to the summit of Mt. Baker.
We found a spot among many, quickly set up camp, and spent the remainder of the day eating, resting, and talking about our schedule for the next day.
The campground was a half-sand, half-dirt concavity that looked like the surface of another planet.
After pitching our tents, we walked off to the nearest water source to fill up our bladders and bottles. A couple hundred feet from camp was a glacier fed waterfall, a far cry from the brown sludge water from the sooty river bank several miles back. We jumped for joy at the sight of clear looking water and filled our containers.
In order to purify our water, we were instructed to bring Aquamira tabs, because the glacial sooted water could clog filters. We regretted this though, longing for the ease of filtering water through a simple tube with no need for delayed gratification. Instead, we were stuck with these drops, which required some alchemy (mixing the two solutions together in a 7:7 ratio) and time. Someone had a three-liter bladder, and for the life of me, I could not muster a single brain cell to count to 21. I squeezed my brain for juice and nothing but a cloud of dust returned. Luckily, Rosh took over and I sighed with relief.
Back at camp, we all took off our shoes and dug our weary feet into the sand. It felt glorious.
We all pulled out our snacks and practiced some alpine gastronomy, finding new combinations of foods to satisfy our palates. A slice of salami paired with a jalapeño chip, wrapped in havarti cheese was a great crowd pleaser. For dessert, sour gummy worms and electrolyte-mixed drinks!
After having dinner, we organized into a circle to negotiate the next day’s skills training. Our guides asked when we’d want to start our day and shifty-eyed we asked them what time would be reasonable, not wanting to give a time too late lest we come off as lazy, or too early for the sake of our beauty sleep. We agreed to start at 8AM and split up to wind-down for the day and settle into our tents.
Day 2: Saturday, August 14, 2021
We walked to a nearby snow patch to learn snow skills. First up was re-learning how to walk. Lauren and Mia demonstrated several options for us including how to rest-step and “gorilla walk”. They walked through the anatomy of an ice axe, which we practiced using, then combined it all together with crampons strapped on. Last on the list, we were taught how to self arrest using the ice axe. We walked as far as we could to the top of the snow patch, slid down, and turned to one side onto our stomachs with ice axe facing outward, allowing the tip to drag through the snow until it brought us to a full stop. We practiced each of these skills for some time until they felt somewhat second nature.
After skills training, we walked over to Easton Glacier and strapped on our crampons to get a feel for walking on ice before committing to summit day. Lauren and Mia went over a bit of glaciology before we set off and explored.
Back at camp, Angela and Diane helped me find my pee funnel. I was so worried about having to fumble around with my pants and harness in order to pee during our ascent. We retraced our steps back to our morning bathroom spot, and sure enough, on the ground shining under the sun next to a rock, my golden pee funnel. Bless their souls and eagle eyes!
During dinner, (don’t choose anything with beans unless you hate yourself) we discussed our leave time for our summit bid. Based on our guides’ assessment, in order to summit based on our current group pace we would have to leave by 1:00 AM. We all talked amongst themselves and agreed to wake up between 11:30 PM-midnight to get ready.
Before going to bed, we took some time to prepare our gear to reduce our time to get ready later that night. Headlamps were strapped onto helmets and placed next to harnesses in front of tent doors, backpacks were packed with water bladders in tow, snacks set, and sharps neatly organized nearby for easy pick-up.
Angela and I finally laid prone in our tent at 7:00 PM, where we would both be anxiously awake (and gassy) until the sound of the first alarm at 11:30 PM.
Day 3: Sunday, August 15, 2021
Diane and Chery made an impressive commitment to wake up at 11:30PM to cook up a hearty meal of chicken and dumplings. The rest of us settled for something quick, a warm bowl of oatmeal and the like just to get something in our stomachs and provide energy for the climb.
At 1:00 AM sharp, we were packed and ready to go. With headlamps on, we followed Lauren into the night. A short hike up a ridge brought us glacier-side where we paused to rope up into two separate teams:
- Lauren > Rosh > Chery > Diane
- Mia > Angela > Emily > Jess
Several groups were also roping up and a short queue formed to get onto the track. After a brief pause, we cut in and were on our way.
Each person on their rope team was separated by about 40 feet of rope. So, while we were tied to our group, there was enough space in between to feel alone while trudging in the dark. Each step made a crunching sound underneath the snow and ice. After a while, we each got into the groove of walking as part of a group pace and the crunch, crunch of the snow became a meditative sound. As we continued upwards, globes of light could be seen ahead, floating at a slow, constant pace from the headlamps of other climbers. We passed crevasses and walked over snow bridges formed overnight and in the dark. I shined my headlamp into a particularly large crevasse and was unsettled by how far down the light reached without reflecting off another solid surface.
During our short and infrequent breaks, we shoved snacks into our mouths to stay energized and took time to relieve ourselves while remaining roped in. The pee funnel came in very clutch during these times!
As we gained in elevation, what started out to be a relatively calm uphill climb began to require more effort. Was I the only one feeling the elevation?! Jess seemed like she was just on a leisurely stroll behind me, the rope between us never becoming taut. I had no sense of where we were on this mountain, only following the boot trail in front of me, head down, one foot in front of the other.
As the night sky started to give way to first light, we reached a narrow “cat walk” portion of the trail and Lauren turned around to say, “…Like we talked about, just walk on the sidewalk. You never fall off walking on the sidewalk, right?” I thought about all the times I did indeed fall off of a sidewalk. Mia sent a message down the line to really solidify the message, “This is a no fall zone, ladies.” We started down the path and I never concentrated so hard on walking in my life. Fortunately, we all made it across with no issues.
At sunrise, I could see that we were nearing the top. I could see the peak that felt so far from railroad grade which was then shrouded in clouds and two years ago when we first started this journey. My body mechanically pulled itself up to our destination but at that moment I felt everything it took to get here and I cried.
We reached the Roman Wall, the final 1000 ft before the summit and stopped to discuss our options. From where we were standing, we could not assess the conditions and decided to push forward. We continued up another 500 ft of sediment and snow. From there, it was clear that the path forward was, for the first time in history, full of dry sediment instead of snow and unstable enough to require technical climbing skills we did not have in order to continue. The time taken to employ screws for protection would require more time than we had to make our descent. With that, the decision was made to turn around and head back down.
A cold front was coming in. Wind whipped up sediment and guided it straight into my eyeballs. Thankfully, the sun had risen and I put on my glacier glasses for protection. Every time we stopped though, the cold felt like it was ripping through my freaking soul. Chery and I shared the same facial expression of defeat each time as we crossed paths.
We were the first group to start the descent and needed to strategize our placement in order to let other groups pass. As we passed each group and observed their team members, we realized that we were the only all women group on Mt. Baker that day. Knowing that made me feel immensely proud.
Views of the North Cascades were on full display. We could see the snow-tipped peak of Glacier Peak poking out of the smoke and cloud layer as we made our way down. Further down, snow bridges we crossed in the night melted away under the now baking sun, and saw each and every one of the giant crevasses we navigated around earlier in the dark without notice.
The last stretch of glacier before camp was a slog. Despite the ease of the flat ice, my feet just no longer wanted to do work. In front of me, I heard an “oh nooooooo!” and looked up as I heard a cracking of ice and rock to see Angela falling. Before I could even react, I saw Mia’s lightning-quick adjustment in stance to brace for Angela’s potential fall. As it turned out, it was a weak point in the ice and the thankfully resulting hole was shallow. Angela let us all know she was okay, just a little wet, and we breathed a sigh of relief.
When we finally made it back to camp, we shoved food into our mouths and quickly packed everything up in order to haul ass back to AAI. We were all so ready to get back to civilization. So, when the river crossings came into view, we walked straight through with zero fucks. We then proceeded to walk the rest of the trail with wet socks and shoes and all.
After 14 hours of hiking with little time to rest and being awake for nearly 20 hours, we were all a little loopy by the time we got dinner and waddled in soreness and exhaustion back to the hotel. I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow. A sleep well-earned.
All in all, I am deeply grateful that I was able to climb this beautiful, ever-changing mountain-scape with the Mt. Baker ladies and two amazing female guides. I was struck by how quickly we could go from knowing nothing about climbing, learning a few skills in an afternoon, and climbing a freaking mountain the next day. We put our trust in ourselves, in each other, and our incredibly patient guides, and we were able to accomplish so much. What an awesome, unforgettable experience.
Trek on! — ❤ Em
Training
Mia: “You know how to train for mountaineering? You mountaineer.”
There is a very specific kind of physical and emotional toll mountaineering can have on you, that can’t quite be replicated with at-home exercises or the casual weekend hike. In any case, I still needed to establish a base level of fitness. So, I am not advocating for any specific type of training here, only listing what I did to prepare myself physically for this trip.
- HIIT once a week
- Yoga once a week
- Running or biking once or twice a week
- Weekly hikes of increasing length up to 10 miles with up to 3000 ft elevation gain
- Weekly hikes of increasing backpack weight, up to 20lbs (combine with bullet above)
- Backpacking trips with at least 3000 ft elevation gain
Gear List
With all the items below, my pack weighed roughly 30lbs. Pretty lightweight in the grand scheme of mountaineering backpacking but still the max load for someone of my stature at 95lbs.
- Gossamer Gear Mariposa Backpack 60L
- 20F Quilt
Because of the heat, could have used a summer quilt
- Nemo Fillo Pillow
- XLITE Women’s Sleeping Pad
- UL 2P Tent (shared)
- Smartwool 250 leggings (for sleep)
Nights ended up being warm, I could have left this and subbed shorts. Instead, I slept in my underwear.
- Buff
- Socks x2 (wear one, the other is in case the first gets wet)
- Icebreaker Merino tech lite shirt
Wore this multiple hot days, no stank!
- Patagonia R1 Fleece
Did not end up using this, it was far too hot
- Patagonia Nanopuff
This came in handy on summit day, a cold front came in and the mountain became very windy and cold
- Rain jacket
Did not end up using this but always recommended in case of inclement weather
- Soft shell bottoms
- Sports bra
- Undies
I brought one pair and it worked out fine, but really wished I brought a second fresh pair to change into at night.
- Soft-billed hat (that will fit underneath helmet)
- Glacier glasses
I had trouble finding a pair that fit my asian framed face. I ended up purchasing adjustable straps that helped keep them on my face despite the poor fit. If I had to choose again, I would buy a pair of Goodr polarized sunnies.
- Liner Gloves
- Work Gloves
I did not end up using these
- Approach shoes
- Mountaineering boots
- Stove
- Pot
- Spork
- Mug
- Bladder
- Wide-mouth Nalgene bottle
- Water purification tablets
Regret not bringing filter
- Wag bags
I only learned during this trip that the wag bag can be used multiple times. I ended up using two. One for camp pooping and a fresh one for summit day.
- Pstyle
Game. Freaking. Changer.
- Crampons
- Ice axe
- Helmet
- Harness
- Carabiners (2 locking 2 non-locking)
- Poles
- Snow baskets
Group carry:
- Two 120ft ropes
- Two pickets/ice screws
