Mt Baker
26 April 2018
Every now and then something comes along that you’ve really really been looking forward to. The kind of thing you plan months or years ahead of time and now it’s finally here. And you’re so excited to get after it, or see old friends, visit some special place from your childhood, and so on. I had saved up some money from my awful job and shortly after leaving that wretched place, found myself in need of just such something to look forward to. So I signed up for a week long ski mountaineering course with American Alpine Institute on Mt Baker. I was probably one of their earliest sign-ups of all time — spring ski dreams in the middle of September! It was to be my first journey to the Cascades, where the glaciers lie!
Our lineup went as follows:
Ben — our guide — IFMGA certified, calm cool collected, natural born teacher
Jessie — immigration attorney — former ski racer, connoisseur of Cascade mountains and runs
CJ — used to work in biotech, now raises funds for American Alpine Club — currently living in Colorado, from Wisconsin
Shawna — one of the most distinguished residents of the Glacier, WA RV Park — best boarder I’ve ever seen, also from Wisconsin
Which made three of us from Wisconsin. And Jessie brought PBR to the summit. It’s no wonder we got along so well!
It was so very special to camp at the foot of the glacier for three full days. Each evening watching the sun race across the ocean, whales presumably mooing among the islands. And us relaxing in our snowy kitchen catching up on the day’s events.
There was always something to learn. The A-V-A kick turn. Or its close cousin, the old dive the back end of the uphill ski in beneath the downhill ski, to ‘stick it’ firmly in completion of the steep plant. Watching out for rollover terrain from above — even the inboard side of a road cut could give way and bury you. Skiing the sawtooth with the avalanche tranceiver, and taking the time to hone in on the buried skier as closely as possible. How does a buried skier feel when probing? Soft! And don’t poke them too hard! Checking your tranceivers can talk to each other, in the parking lot! Making little tele-turns on the skins to stay better balanced on those pesky downhill bits of the approach. Taking a ski lesson with a Level II or III PSIA Instructor before my rotten downhill habits get any worse. Setting the skin track the afternoon before summit day, to reduce chances of slippery, icy early morning skinning. Climbing moderately steep snow with a ski pole for balance and an ice axe for arrest. The general goofiness of leashes. (Ben’s not a fan — just don’t drop your axe……jeez.) What to do with the ski pole if you fall? Just ditch it and arrest! Oh yeah — apparently ski crampons exist! I had no idea! De-icing and drying skins inside the tent at night after a long day out. Travelling the glaciers — how much rope to have out between party members, depending on how many are on the rope. We carried two ropes between the five of us; I think one was a 40 meter and the other a 30 meter. Releasing the ski quickly for tighter turns on steep terrain. Yeah, really gotta practice that. Release the ski! And much much more……
So, was it worth it to pay all that money for a guided trip? Hmmm……YES! Emphasis was placed on doing things ourselves, so we could complete our own trips in the future. Going with a guide lets you jump a little further outside your comfort zone. And when you consider our demographics (i.e. none of us are rich, that’s for sure) it comes down to whether or not you want to make it happen. The financial concern would be secondary. For example, I could have rented out a nice downtown apartment in Sacramento. But instead I lived in a ‘charming’ run down home with a few roommates and saved up some money. Enough to see a mountain range and have a shared experience with fun, motivated, rad people. I mean, it was either that or stainless steel appliances.
Yeah……
I’ll take the mountain range.
