Mount Baker, Heliotrope Ridge — Friday, Jul. 28, 2017

So happy to be able to write a trip report for our successful summit of Mt. Baker!

Five of us headed up the Heliotrope Ridge trail to the Coleman Camp around 4:30pm on Friday afternoon. This was all our first attempt of Baker, and the first time climbing roped up for three of us. The Heliotrope trail is in great shape - no bugs, and crowds were minimal (not the case Saturday - more on that later). Just past the junction where the climbers' path heads straight up, stunning vistas dotted with a rainbow of wildflowers provided a treat as we made our way to camp. We grabbed a spot around 6:00pm, settled in, and went to sleep just after sunrise around 9:00pm.

We set alarms for 1:45am, and began our slog around 2:30am. The route was relatively straightforward, and a nice bootpath existed to aide as well. Crevasse navigation was easily manageable. We took it slow and reached the Roman Headwall just before 6:00am, where we felt it was safe to unrope - a deep trench-like path goes up all the way to the summit crater, where any fall would be contained within that trench, minimizing any risk/injury. We reached summit at 8:00am - to warm temperatures, clear blue skies, and absolutely no wind. 

Our stoke quickly ran out during the painstakingly arduous descent - snow was beginning to soften, so each step often involved a little slide. Extra caution had to be used on the steeper slopes, making the descent take almost as long as the ascent. We reached camp around noon.

From there, the Heliotrope Ridge trail was a nightmare. It was crowded beyond belief, with many dayhikers choosing to continue up the climbers path to enjoy the wildflower-lined trail and higher elevation views. Bugs also made the trek miserable - swarms were relentless from one end of the trail to the other. I really wished I had brought my deet. We hit the car again at 2:00pm.

We're all excited to have summited - just two more Washington volcanoes left to check off my list!