Mount Baker 3 Day Climb

Will I summit Baker?

Climbing Mount Baker is a great first time mountaineering experience.   While it is an excellent first glaciated climb it is still a big and challenging mountain.

Personal fitness, weather, and route conditions are the three most crucial elements that determine success on the climb.

Fitness: This is one of the most important and controllable factors of summit success! Using our training recommendations and focusing on sport-specific training will drastically increase your likelihood of summiting. If you have not been training regularly, consider hiring a personal trainer who specializes in mountain fitness. To summit Baker, climbers must be able to travel 1,000 – 1,200+ vertical feet per hour, over multiple hours with a 30 – 40 lb pack.

Weather: In mountaineering, we have four meteorological factors that can prevent us from reaching the summit – visibility, wind, precipitation, and temperature. Often, we will still climb when just one of the meteorological factors is working against us (depending on the severity). When multiple factors stack up, we err on the side of caution. Poor weather such as high wind coupled with precipitation can bring higher risk to the climbing team compared to moderate or favorable weather. Throughout the climb, guides will be assessing the weather to determine the viability of moving to Sandy camp and later the summit. We always look to mitigate risks on the mountain.

The Route:  Probably the least understood of the three elements, the route to the summit may change 25 times or more per season from small variations to major adjustments. When the route no longer connects to the summit, we refer to it as “the route going out”. This can happen for many reasons, such as crevasse bridges opening. Our guide team, will work to find a route variation or new route. While we are quick to respond (the response time is also weather-permitting) there may be multiple teams that do not reach the summit while the route is out even if the weather is favorable. Like the weather, we don’t know when the route will go out and how long it may take to repair or find a new route. We have often repaired the route in 1-2 days, but longer outages are not uncommon.

Keeping the Pace While Climbing Komo Kulshan (Mount Baker)
Kulshan is physically demanding climb. You must be prepared to travel with your team at a speed of 1000 vertical feet per hour.

• While many may climb at a faster pace, we feel setting a team pace is important to manage expectations and offer the chance for more climbers to summit when conditions permit. We understand this may be a slower pace than you are used to, but we believe this is the best approach and provides a more team-oriented experience.
• Please note, there are times when we may have to move more quickly through certain terrain, such as under areas of possible overhead hazard. Coming to the climb with the expected fitness level, helps us navigate the mountain and “speed up “ when needed.
• 1000 vertical feet per hour is a reasonable fitness level for climbing and obtainable for climbers who give themselves ample time to train and focus on sport specific training for mountaineering.
• Traveling very slowly on a climb like Kulshan (less than 1000 vertical feet per hour) makes each section of the climb longer, putting a greater overall demand and fatigue on the climber.
• We do not have fast or slow rope teams – our teams keep a steady pace and move together for risk management purposes.
• Traveling very slowly on a climb like Kulshan (less than 1000 vertical feet per hour) makes each section of the climb longer, resulting in greater overall fatigue for the climber, including physical stress

We encourage you to use our blog posts to keep updated on climbing conditions.  We do not cancel trips due to potential weather situations or while the climbing route is being rerouted.

See Cascades Climbing Blog at: https://www.alpineascents.com/cybercast/mount_rainier_cascades_blog/

Well, climb them both of course! But a legendary mountain author weighs in:

BY PETER POTTERFIELD

As the author of “Selected Climbs in the Cascades,” both volumes 1 and 2, I get emails daily from adventurers coming to the Cascades for the first time wanting some insight into the best climbing routes in the range. And who can blame them? When it comes to alpine climbs, the Cascades offer arguably the best routes in the lower 48.

None of the peaks in the Cascade Range is more unique or appealing than the Cascade Volcanoes. Draped in glaciers, studded with fearsome rock spires, and all rising above 10,000 feet, the volcanoes offer a climbing experience unrivaled outside of the Alps, or Alaska, or the Himalaya. There are six of these giants in the Northwest: Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams, Mount Rainier, Glacier Peak, and Mount Baker. But for most climbers seeking a world-class route on a big mountain, access, quality and climbing routes mean the choice comes down to just two: Mount Baker or Mount Rainier.

I was faced with that very dilemma when I first moved to the Northwest after a decade of climbing in the Rockies. I was stoked to get up on those big, ice-clad ghostly white mountains floating on the horizon in all directions, but frankly, I lacked the skills. Crevasse rescue, ice climbing, glacier travel, reading avalanche conditions—these were all skills I needed to acquire. But where to do it? On 14,410-ft Mount Rainier, lord of the range, rising above Seattle like a papier-mâché stage prop? Or the more remote and aesthetic 10,781-ft Mount Baker in the far north, monarch of ineffably beautiful North Cascades?

The decision was easy: Baker. This, the third highest peak in the Northwest, wears its heavy mantle of ice with exceptional beauty. Its high altitude and position west of the Cascade Crest—Baker is only 35 miles from tidewater—place it to receive the full blast of wet winter storms, feeding its glaciers. That becomes ever more important as climate change threatens Cascade glaciers farther south. Baker is snow white and pristine in its ice clad beauty.

“Excellent. Climbing Mt. Baker was one of the most amazing experiences of my life” 2017 Climber

For any climber wishing to add ice-climbing and steep snow-climbing skills to their resume, Mount Baker is perfect. It’s got everything Mount Rainier has—glaciers, crevasses, ice falls, steep ice, steep snow, craggy rock spires—and more. Situated within the wild North Cascades, often called the Switzerland of America, Baker comes with pristine wilderness and a sense of solitude that is unique among the Cascade Volcanoes. But what it doesn’t have is perhaps its greatest draw: crowds and permit hassles. Multiple routes, from straightforward glacier climbs such as the Easton or the Coleman, to steep, aesthetic ice climbing routes such as the North Ridge, Baker offers a range of routes, difficulties and glacial terrain free of the crowds found on Mount Hood or Mount Adams or Mount Rainier.

A final consideration: altitude. For those of us who live at sea level, a trip above 14,000 ft comes with tiresome, debilitating effects of altitude, and the real possibility of high-altitude sickness. Now Baker is a big mountain, and at almost 11,000 ft, it is not immune to that danger, but acclimatization is easier and quicker. Altitude problems are far less of an issue on this peak. And the lower High Camps and shorter summit days on its routes make climbing and learning on Mount Baker more fun and less stressful than doing the same program on Mount Rainier. Let’s be clear this is an equal climb technically but perhaps a better intro into glacier climbing and one of the pearls of the mountains every climber should attempt.

It worked for me, that’s why I ended up writing the climbing guide to the Cascades. Within a year of my tutelage on Baker, I climbed all the Cascade Volcanoes: Mount Hood at night under a full moon (never turned the headlamps on) for a dawn summit; remote Glacier Peak via the Rabbit Ears route; and Rainier, for the first of a dozen summits via the Emmons with my friend Scott Fischer. I did Adams the first time via the North Ridge (the “mule route” is just too boring). My time on Baker had me more than ready for all of that, and what was to come in Alaska and the Alps.

And the beauty is, gaining proficiency in big-mountain skills on Mount Baker is immediately transferable. Learn your chops here, where you likely will have more fun, fewer altitude problems, and enjoy a rare pristine setting and a genuine sense of solitude, and you are set up for what’s next: Rainier on a technical route, other Cascades climbs, or even Denali or Aconcagua.

Peter Potterfield

Reading List

This is a highly recommended shortlist and we would be happy to pass on a longer reading list for those interested. These links will bounce to Amazon.com with reviews.

Selected Climbs in the Cascades

by Jim Nelson, Peter Potterfield, Mountaineers Books

Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills

Don Graydon (Ed.), Kurt Hanson (Ed.), Mountaineers Society, Mountaineers Books

Glacier Travel & Crevasse Rescue

Andy Selters, Mountaineers Books

The Illustrated Guide to Glacier Travel & Crevasse Rescue

Andy Tyson, Mike Clelland, Climbing Magazine

The Good Rain: Across Time and Terrain in the Pacific Northwest

Timothy Egan

Natural History of the Pacific Northwest Mountains: Timber Press Field Guide

Daniel Mathews

If this is the year you’ve decided to dip your crampon-clad toes into the world of mountaineering, there is no better launch pad than the quintessential glaciated Washington peak – the iconic Kulshan (Mount Baker). Located deep in the heart of the North Cascades surrounded by endless steep, snow-capped peaks, Kulshan is arguably the best glacier training venue in the Lower 48. If you’re signed up for this ultra-classic climb this summer or are contemplating it for a future season, check out the recording for our Kulshan webinar hosted by lead guide Brooke Warren. During the webinar, she covered trip logistics, route details, and essential gear considerations to set you up for success. As always, we left time to make sure no question went unanswered. You can watch the full recording below: