Flying off Mount Baker

Flying from the summit of Mount Baker (1/29/19)
Picture: Travis King

Mount Baker is probably my favorite volcano in Washington. At an elevation of 10,781 feet, it's the 3rd highest mountain in the state. In May of 2015 I first climbed Baker as part of a UW climbing club trip, and on that trip I met several good friends who I still climb with often.

Shirtless summit picture from my first Baker climb
(May, 2015)

In April of 2018 I climbed Baker for a second time, but this time in one day with backcountry skis. Skiing from the summit was one of the most adventurous things I've done, and was my longest ski descent at the time of 8,000 feet. Click here for a gps track from that ski trip.

Skiing the Coleman Deming Route in a day

A month later in May of 2018 I climbed Baker again via the more technical North Ridge in a day with Lane Aasen. We carried our skis up and skied down the Coleman Deming route. That was an incredible trip, and probably the most fun day I've ever had out on a volcano. Lane wrote up a full report from that trip, you can read it here.

Lane climbing up the North Ridge of Baker
(5/26/18)

Now I can say I've also flown off the mountain with a paraglider! 

On Sunday night Lane messaged me asking if I wanted to skip work Tuesday to ski or climb/fly off Baker or Eldorado Peak. This was just at the end of a weekend where I had already flown off Saint Helens and the cliffs above Snow Lake. I was a couple beers in at the time, so mentioned that I was interested and would do some more planning on Monday.

The weather forecast looked very nice on Baker with light winds and no clouds on Tuesday. I was psyched on continuing my mountain-flying streak, and managed to convince Travis to skip work and join me for a one-day trip on his new AT skis. 

Lane got off work earlier, so he decided to drive up Monday evening to get a full night's rest at the trailhead with the intention of starting his climb a couple hours after us. I decided not to bring skis based on a trip report from a few days earlier that described firm snow conditions. My paragliding pack was already going to weigh ~35 pounds, and I didn't like the idea of carrying an additional 10 lbs of skis up the Roman Wall plus dealing with the added complication during launch. 

After swinging by Chop Express to grab some Vietnamese burritos for the following day we got home and started packing. I got to sleep around 10pm, and woke up at 2am to start the drive north. We drove as far as possible on the forest road until snow stopped us 1.3 miles short of the trailhead. I saw Lane parked and regretted not bringing some Smirnoff's to ice him with. 

Travis and I started hiking just before 5am. There was very treacherous ice on most of the approach trail, and Travis was forced to carry his skis for the first few miles. At 7am we came to the main snowfield below the hogsback, and I unfortunately started sinking into the snow with every step. 

Travis skiing up the hogsback just above treeline

At this point I really wished I had skis or snowshoes to prevent my post-holing. I was still able to maintain a decent pace, but slower than Travis on his skis. At one point I decided to cut up a steeper slope to take a more direct path and hopefully avoid the deep snow, but two-thirds of the way up I realized I was on the leeward side of a ridge. I dug a quick snow pit and discovered a wind slab that could slide easily when loaded. Feeling sketched out and extremely dumb about my mistake, I carefully climbed up the remainder of the slope until it flattened out into safe terrain.

Avalanche danger was low on the NWAC forecast, but that doesn't necessarily apply to the much higher elevation volcanoes that have colder temperatures and higher winds. Plus when booting up slopes it's much easier to forget how steep the slope is compared to when you're making a skin track. I'm glad I can learn from that mistake.

First views of Baker above treeline
Photo: Travis King

Travis and I continued up the Coleman Deming route at an approximate 1000 ft/hr pace. I was working hard with every step and really wishing that I had brought small snowshoes or anything to float better on the snow. There were some sections where I could float on top of old skin tracks and keep pace with Travis, but as soon as I started sinking he would pull ahead.

Travis skinning with Colfax on the right and Baker left

By 11am we had made it to the gap at 9000 feet, just below the steep section known as the Roman Wall. This is where Lane caught up to us and we chatted shortly before he continued upward.  I was tired and needed a lunch break, so we hung out in the sun for a half hour to chill and eat.

Lunch break at the gap below the Roman Wall
Picture: Travis King

Lane passing us and continuing up the Roman Wall
Picture: Travis

The climb up the Roman Wall is usually where you start to notice the altitude, and we did feel ourselves slowing down during the last 1500 feet of steep climbing. There were a couple of fighter jets flying around the mountain to provide us with entertainment, and we also saw what looked to be a rescue helicopter practice a landing on Colfax peak.

Helicopter landing on Colfax Peak
Photo: Travis

Towards the top of the Roman wall we met Lane as he was skiing down, I guess he was going for speed and didn't feel like waiting around for us to meet him up on the summit.

Lane skiing down the Roman Wall for his 3rd time
Photo: Travis

Having a brief chat with Lane
Photo: Travis

Climbing up the last section of the Roman Wall
Photo: Travis

We summited ahead of schedule at just after 1pm. For a full GPS track of our climb click here. The wind seemed calm and slightly north. After enjoying the summit for a few minutes I climbed down slightly and began unpacking my wing.

Sorting out my lines before launch
Photo: Travis

I aborted my first launch attempts when my lines got caught on pieces of protruding ice. Even after untangling my lines from the ice I realized that I was too far upslope and experiencing turbulence as the wind separated from the slope. The wind gradient was quite strong, and although wind speeds were only 5 mph near the ground, just 20 feet up it seemed to be much stronger.

Struggling with the wing in turbulence
Photo: Travis

After the aborted launches I bunched up my wing and moved further downslope to a section of smoother snow where it was less likely for my lines to get caught on the ice. The air was smoother there, and I was able to successfully launch after Travis helped unfold my wing. If you've read this far, you probably deserve to see a video of the flight, so here ya go:

Video from the flight

  

Launching to the north
Photo: Travis

Looking back shortly after launch
Photo: Travis

Disappearing below the summit
Photo: Travis 

I was originally hoping to fly south of Colfax and Lincoln peak before cutting back to the north, but after my difficulty on the launch I decided to play it safe and stay on the north side of the ridges to stay upwind and avoid potential turbulence. I enjoyed amazing views of the north face of Baker including the North Ridge as I traversed around the mountain to the west.

Lower down on the glacier I played around near some huge crevasses and seracs. It was cool flying close to the slope. If I felt too low I could easily turn sharper down the slope and regain height above the ground.

Follow-cam picture as I fly around Baker's north face

Views of the Roman Wall and Colfax as I glide to the west

Flying near seracs low on the Coleman Glacier

I landed next to the hogsback just above treeline. Travis and I had radios, so I notified him as soon as I landed safely. I packed up my wing and enjoyed a burrito as I waited for Travis to ski down. For a full GPS track of my flight click here.

Travis took a while to ski down and I was getting a bit anxious. It was relieving to finally see him show up on the horizon. We met up and hiked out to the car arriving just before 5pm. After helping pull a truck out from the side of the icy road we had a good drive back to Seattle with the aid of a Red Bull, getting home by 9pm.