Mount Baring/Northwest Ridge

After waffling back and forth about the typical pacific nw weather forecast our group decided almost unanimously Thursday to grab the raingear and go. Turns out after 11.5 hours on the route 60% chance of rain resulted in not one drop. The icing on the forecast cake was the brief clearing just as we were leaving the summit exposing those incredible views. We car camped Friday night at the Barclay lake trailhead and very much appreciated the new restroom facility. Northwest forest pass $ at work. The trail up to the ridge continues to get more defined each year and it is not difficult to find or stay on. There are several areas where blow down has scattered debris but if you keep an eye out for the survey tape you can find your way through. The ridge trail and south gully up to the basin had considerably less snow than recent years and was soft enough crampons were not necessary but the students used them for technique training. After a brief lunch break at the saddle we crossed the basin and ascended the gulley up to the snow wall. Snow conditions were soft but stable. A full rope length prusik line anchored top and bottom was used on the snow wall. We reached the summit at 11:30 and successfully delivered a new summit register. The return trip included a single rope rapel back down the snow wall and was un eventful but took almost as long as the ascent.