Coleman-Demming Route

Trip Report

Coleman-Demming Route

Page Type: Trip Report

Location: Washington, United States, North America

Date Climbed/Hiked: Jul 11, 2004

Activities: Mountaineering

Season: Summer

Page By: Alpendave

Created/Edited: Sep 7, 2008 / Sep 7, 2008

Object ID: 440310

Hits: 183

Page Score: 86.06% - 1 Votes

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On 10-11 July 2004, I helped Larry Goolsby take a group of x-ray tech students from Bellingham Technical College to the summit of Mt. Baker in celebration of their graduation from the program.

We all met in the parking lot at Cost Cutter on Sunset Dr. in Bellingham. From there we drove to the Heliotrope Ridge trailhead which was already getting a little crowded with vehicles. Before long we had donned our packs and were heading up the trail under overcast skies which, seeing we weren’t deterredby natures milder threats, decided to pour ice-cold rain on us. Gortex came on, and we continued.

On the trail, shortly before the rain started

John taking advantage of the break in the weather.

Upon reaching the top of Heliotrope Ridge the rain let up long enough fool us into taking off our rain jackets (at least that’s what I did), and then turned to snow (the heavy, wet kind) for our trip up the glacier to our camp at Marmot Ridge. At least the weather resumed in time for me to put my rain jacket back on. Summer doesn’t mean the same thing on Mt. Baker as it does in other parts of the world.

It took us about an hour or so to reach our camp on Marmot Ridge. Most people camp below at Heliotrope Ridge, or higher on the Coleman Glacier at the base of the Black Buttes. So our camp was relatively uncrowded and afforded us a place to get off the snow onto some rock. The campsites consisted of level spots of fine pumice protected by small windbreaks built from rocks. The ridge is quite exposed to the wind otherwise. Visibility was nil, which enabled us to quickly set up our camp without the distraction of breathtaking views. The driving snow also motivated us. As soon as tents were up, we immediately took shelter to wait for an opportunity to venture outside again. John Hill and I shared my tent, which is just barely big enough for two. John was a pretty trim fellow, however, so it all worked out.

Shortly before dusk, the snow and rain stopped and we were able to get out of our tents long enough to prepare and eat out dinner. The clouds broke up enough for some spectacular views, especially of the Coleman Glacier and Lincoln Peak, which made for some nice photography opportunities.

The weather didn’t hold out though, and we needed to get to sleep anyway since we were getting up around midnight to start our climb. I think I may have slept a little bit. My 5mm Evazote foam pad is really meant for survival situations and not as one’s primary sleeping pad. Midnight came and crawling out of my sleeping bag and into the cold, misty wind didn’t decrease my comfort level all that much since it was pretty low to begin with. After breakfast and packing our packs for the summit, we started out on the glacier.

Looking dow at the top of Pumice Ridge at the start of the Roman Wall.

The clouds were thick as pea soup all around us, but the path was beaten into the glacier by climbers before us. The snow cover was still good, so we didn’t have too many crevasses to maneuver around. After gaining about a thousand feet, the clouds thinned out some and the temperature was remarkably colder. The wind was still sharp, and sleet made is a bit sharper. Before long, however, we were at the saddle between Colfax Peak and the main summit. After reaching the top of Pumice Ridge, we stopped to hydrate and ingest some calories. From here, it was short hump up the Roman Wall and we were on the summit plateau. Being unfamiliar with Baker myself, I was surprised at how quickly we reached the summit. My Rainier experiences must have affected my frame of reference. Jeremiah, Peter, and I walked across the summit dome to the very tip top and would have signed the summit register, but everything was coated in frost, including us!

Starting down the Roman Wall from the summit.

Sadly, we had to start down and leave this place with its surreal, barren beauty. We took another break on the top of Pumice Ridge and by the time we got down to the saddle, things were warming up as the sun had come out as we reached the summit. Before long we were back at camp and packing everything up for the hike back to the vehicles. I can’t remember who I was roped to, but we all had fun glisading down the glacier, trying to avoid any crevasses that might cross our path. At last, we were back on Heliotrope Ridge.

As we started on the trail, one of our group was moving extremely slowly since the weight in his pack and the down stepping from the summit had started to take their toll on his feet. He would take a few steps and then have to stop and regain his fortitude to take a few more steps. I carried his tent which lightened his pack and once we got off the steepest, rockiest part of the trail, he moved a little faster, but was still very slow. Eventually, he made it and we were all on the road again, back to civilization.

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