Mt. Baker Conditions

[takeahike46er]

With the snowpack in southwest BC continuing to be low for this time of year—especially at or below treeline—my buddy and I headed to the Mt. Baker sidecountry on Sunday where base depths of 90”+ and quick pow laps are easily accessible.

What was supposed to be a few inches of snow overnight turned into a foot plus of lower density snow. It all fell on a soft base—not the dense snowpack we normally have from repeat freeze-thaw cycles and heavy, wet snow. However, the trend of cooler than normal temps is about to end later in the week, and conditions could rapidly change.

 

[takeahike46er]

First off, I freakin’ love Mt Baker. The place has such a great vibe and some amazing skiing. If you’re in the region, it’s worth a visit.

Snow depths are currently at 114”, which is much better than north of the border this season. With fresh snow and clearing skies, our day in the Mt Baker backcountry delivered.

Visibility started off terrible, so we eventually aborted our plan to tour around Table Mountain. We could almost make out the bathrooms poking out of the snow drift at the top of Artist Point.

Just as we were about to do a quick lap in the trees and call it a day, the clouds lifted and we scored some untracked laps on a variety of lines heading down to Bagley Lakes. Sweet day!

 

[raisingarizona]

Nice pictures!

Baker looks amazing.

 

[takeahike46er]

Thanks RA!

Baker’s a gem.

 

[takeahike46er]

Considering the relatively low snowpack, I definitely didn’t expect much from my first tour of the season today. At most, I was expecting to work on my technique, dial in the gear and ski down the 542.

However, on the way up to Artist Point, some of the north facing chutes above Bagley Lakes were surprisingly filled in. And so our group reassessed, identified a skiable line, and ultimately was rewarded with some knee deep goodness for our first turns of the season.

The rest of the day was a mixed bag depending on the zone, with lots of early season hazards to watch out for and the snow getting heavy as the daytime temps slowly rose. Already looking forward to the next storm cycle, but feeling super grateful for today!

 

[takeahike46er]

I toured up Heliotrope Ridge on the north side of Mount Baker. Normally a popular zone in the early and late season, it’s currently quite boney by Baker standards.

The Coleman Glacier would typically be buried by now

Despite the freezing levels approaching 9k feet, the snow remained pretty crunchy from 5k feet upward. You could set an edge, but it wasn’t the most pleasant skiing. Still, it was nice to scout out the terrain for future visits.

Heliotrope Ridge

The summit cone

Hoping the trajectory of the season changes soon. The region is currently a month behind schedule (at least) and falling further behind as storms continue to dodge the region.