Mount Baker/Coleman Glacier

We camped at the Heliotrope Ridge trailhead on Friday night and took a leisurely 8am start time on Saturday morning. We stopped for a break when we passed out of the forest cover, as the wildflowers combined with Baker looming in the background made for spectacular views. Soon after, we arrived at 6,000 feet and roped up. We made our way through the crevasse field. We had no problem, but they are likely to start really opening up soon. We found a nice, secluded campsite over a hump at ~7,600 feet where we efficiently set up tents and began the process of melting snow for water. It wasn’t too long before a few groups popped up over the rise, likely as surprised to see us as we were to see them. Our seclusion was gone, but no matter. It was a beautiful night with a truly spectacular sunset.

We awoke around two and left camp promptly at 3:04am. The climb was relatively uneventful, and we summited around 6:45. The one thing to be aware of is that the route is direct, straight up the Roman Wall. A couple other teams unroped, as early in the morning it was fairly icy, and the Roman Wall is a bit steep. For us, we didn’t think it was steep enough to warrant unroping.

We spent some quality time on top resting and taking pictures before descending and making it back to camp at 10:15. We left around 11:30 for the hike out and a wonderful late lunch at Grahams in Glacier.