Day 1
The Monday of MLK weekend provided a rare alignment of circumstance, available time, good avy forecast, and a stable weather window for the Mt. Baker area. This meant we had the opportunity to explore the phenomenal winter paradise over Artist Point and around Table Mountain one more time, and with two nights in the backcountry! We left the Olympia area early morning and arrived at the Heather Meadows parking lot about 11a.m. Despite paying for an unoccupied vehicle spot for two nights we struggled to find an appropriate spot available, and with no attendant to be found we left our truck in one of the open parking spaces in the center of the lot.
My partner and I began the walk from the parking lot to Artist Point with modest crowds and a path so consolidated neither one of us felt the need for traction or snowshoes. After a short lunch with an outstanding view of Mt. Baker we began the traverse around the south side of Table Mountain. The avalanche forecast for the area was green at all elevations and aspects, but please use your own observations and experience when crossing avy terrain such as this. Fortunately, for us on this day the snowpack was well consolidated, and temps had remained cool enough that we weren’t left with a refrozen sheet of ice. We were able to kick steps and walk all the way to the prominent ridge emanating from the NE shoulder of Mt. Baker with minimal post holing. Here we set up camp for the night and enjoyed the incredible scenery before climbing inside of multiple sleeping bags with a few hand warmers as well…
Day 2
We awoke to a beautiful sunny day that rapidly became quite cloudy, mountain weather I suppose. Our goal today was to climb onto and explore Table Mountain and either camp on top or down by the lakes on the summer Chain Lakes Trail. We decided to head around the SW side of Table and try to loosely follow the summer route to avoid some of the more exposed slopes. This year there was a well set skin track that we used to guide us in our own step kicking through the semi-steep snow in the forest. The sun began to return as we finished climbing out of the thin woods and to the final climb onto Table, only to disappear again when we arrived on top. The top of Table Mountain is a beautiful creation in winter, rolling pillows of pristine snow and views of Mt. Shuksan, Mt. Baker and the surrounding peaks. After about 1.5 miles of exploration and attempting to find an alternate route down to Herman Saddle (there isn’t one, it’s a cliff) we realized we were running low on water and were ready to make camp. Since some daylight remained, we descended the way we came and found some flowing water (less snow to melt!!) next to Mazama Lake. We set up camp just above its frozen shores.
Day 3
It was cold, really cold, overnight a water bottle partially froze in my partner’s sleeping bag, condensation froze heavily on my bag, and hoarfrost covered the outside of the tent. But the sun had returned, and the painful frozen toes and fingers were quickly forgotten! We snowshoed over the edge of Iceberg Lake, again, use your own judgement crossing frozen lakes and water, and then climbed to Herman Saddle. After a brief disagreement over my route selection, I tend to be overly aggressive and head straight up, we saw a few skiers for the first time since Monday. Then we decided to follow a descending traverse high along the northern side of the bowl on a line we picked out from Artist Point two days earlier, this kept us in the sun and avoided the steepest decent into the valley. Another 45 minutes of casual but beautiful snowshoeing along the winter Bagley Lakes route brought us back to the parking lot and concluded our trip!
Summary
This is a stunning multiday winter exploration route if the conditions allow. The loop can be done in one day as a snowshoe or ski tour, but we enjoy the extended time in the wilderness, especially with the rare winter sun! Enjoy and be safe out there!
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