Entries from North Cascades

Mike Walter checked in from camp this afternoon. Mike reported avalanche conditions and decided to turn due to unstable snow conditions, rain on snow, some natural avalanche conditions and 30 - 60cm postholing.

They hope to climb thru Coleman-Deming and then hike out tomorrow. 

We opted to go for the summit today ahead of expected precip tomorrow. We called our high point a bit above the saddle. There is a large cornice along the summit ridge and loose, wet snow that was unstable. There is a lot of snow in Boston basin still, no rock to be seen along the summit ridge.

Our plan is to descend tomorrow am, one day early.

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

RMI Guide James Bealer checked in from the summit of Mt. Baker this morning. He reported that 100% of the team was on top! The team enjoyed a beautiful bluebird day with little to no wind on their ascent to the top.

They were beginning their descent back to camp to celebrate and will get a good nights rest before packing up camp tomorrow.

Congratulations to the climbers!

Hi Everyone -

Our Baker Ski team is back at camp after a successful ski descent of the summit with everyone!!!

Beautiful day up there with great snow.

RMI Guide Grayson Swingle

The Mt. Baker Summit and Ski Descent team led by RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer wrapped up their time on Mt. Baker today. The team took advantage of short periods of sun breaks to ski around Sandy Camp. Low clouds, snow, and poor visibility prevented the team from ascending too far out of camp. Pete reports great skiing and a happy team, making the most of their time on the mountain.

This weekend our Backcountry Ski and Ride course had an excellent time learning the fundamentals of backcountry skiing.  Saturday gave us a light dusting of fresh snow as we practiced our rescue skills and learned how to move as a group in the backcountry. 

The next day, we practiced making terrain decisions and students navigated the group through the ascents and descents of our long tour.  We ended up having beautiful weather for most of the course and had the whole mountain to ourselves on Sunday. 

Our students are excited to use their new skills for upcoming ski descents of local Washington mountains as well as skiing corn with their friends.  

RMI Guide James Bealer & Team

RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli and Jack Delaney led the entire Mt. Baker - Easton Glacier team to the summit of Mt. Baker today! Dominic reports it was a super nice day on the summit and  that "things are going great!" The team is spending one more night at camp before making the rest of their descent tomorrow.

This climb wraps up our 2021 North Cascades climbing season. We loved climbing with all of you this year and are excited for the climbs to come in 2022!

Congratulations climbers!

The Mt. Shuksan - Sulphide Glacier Climb led by RMI Guide James Bealer were unable to make a summit attempt on Mt. Shuskan due to rain and wind. While not the mountain experience the team hoped for, the team's time on the mountain was a true mountain experience. The team is back in town and preparing to warm up over burgers and beers.

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

At around 10am today a team led by RMI Guide Matias Francis reached the summit of Mt. Shuksan. The climbable weather was short lived, as they raced the impending rain back to camp. The weather won this round as they made it back to camp soaked, but happy. The team will spend the night at high camp, before descending down during the day tomorrow (hopefully in the sun). 

Congratulations to the team!

We had a great day at Mt. Erie on Tuesday for the first day of our Expedition Skills Seminar - Shuksan.  We went through gear, learned knots, anchors, belaying, and rappelling. We also did a bit of top rope climbing in boots to get ready for Shuksan. We then prepped and got ready to head onto the mountain for the next few days.  We had a great day with a bit of cloud cover to keep it cool. We then moved into camp at the toe of the Sulphide Glacier with some incredible views for the next several days! 

On Friday, we made our summit attempt with 100% of the group reaching the summit at 9,131'.  It was a long day and we arrived back in camp late.  Everybody is happy. We'll train on Saturday and check in then. 

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer