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Mt. Baker offers some of the best ski touring in the state. It's hard to argue with 8,000 feet of vertical! It is a treat to take 3 days to enjoy this amazing mountain.
Mount Baker offers some of the best ski touring in the state. It's hard to argue with 8,000 feet of vertical in one of the world's largest snow factories. The terrain is high alpine and as severe as you want to make it. It's a beautiful summit and we love guiding it!
Overall difficulty: Intermediate to advanced
Skills required: Advanced skiing ability and prior ski touring experience required. You should be able to ski black diamond ski slopes at ski areas in just about any condition, and be able to ski ungroomed slopes of intermediate difficulty without any hesitation. You should have a good amount of ski touring experience and have experience in moving through the landscape in a variety of snow conditions ranging from deep to frozen snow. You should be able to complete transitions from touring to skiing or boot packing with ease and good efficiency.
Very good physical fitness: you should be able to hike or climb for 5 to 6 hours with a pack varying from 20 to 40 lbs. and ascend 3,000 to 4,000 feet of vertical gain per day for 2 to 3 consecutive days.
Day 1: We will conduct a quick gear check at the Ranger Station and then drive up the Glacier Creek Road as far as we can. From the road head we'll tour to the Heliotrope Ridge area and establish a nice camp. If we have time and energy, we will go for a little side ski in the afternoon.
Day 2: Summit day. An early start will see us to the summit of Mount Baker via the Coleman Deming Col in the late morning. We should be back in camp right in time for a post lunch coffee. We might even ski a little more in the afternoon.
Day 3: The third day leaves some options open. Conditions permitting, we will tour to the rarely visited Roosevelt – Mazama Col and then ski back down to camp before heading out in the early afternoon. You can assume to be back in the Seattle area in the early evening.
Itinerary subject to change based on snow/weather/road conditions.
Snow Travel Equipment
Safety Gear
Technical Gear
Although tipping is not a requirement, it is considered standard practice in the guiding industry and is appreciated by our guides. We generally recommend roughly 10%-15% of your course or trip cost or a flat amount that you are comfortable with.