We met up at the park-and-ride around 8 a.m.—me, Reid, and a few others—and hit the road for Mount Baker. We rolled into the parking lot around 10:30 and were on the trail by 11. The group was solid: Reid (my longtime hiking buddy), Lawrence (who I’ve known for a while around Seattle), and Peter, a transplant from Virginia.
The goal? Hit Baker for the first time this season.
The weather was *warm*—mid-60s, definitely on the toasty side for a ski day. We climbed up and reached our first high point around 12:30. First lap was through Dog Chute, and… wow, it was *wet*. A ton of loose, slushy snow made for some interesting skiing. We went back up for a second lap, this time heading toward Port Hontoon Point. We didn’t go all the way up but got a good bit of vertical in before calling it around 2 p.m.
By then, Reid’s dog Kola was *done*—hot, tired, and ready to head back—so we wrapped up and made it to the cars by 4:30.
One thing that stood out? Lawrence was actually the one who organized the trip, and it’s only his *first* season skiing. Pretty impressive that he’s already getting people together and planning outings like this. Honestly, it made me want to step up my own planning game.
On the way down, Reid and I were chatting about how tricky it can be to figure out who’s into what—some friends are stoked to climb mountains but don’t have glacier skills, and others are solid on glaciers but don’t have much climbing experience. We talked about maybe setting up a group chat or something for ski partners to make trip planning easier—probably something to kick off next season, since this one’s just about wrapped up.
*Gear Lessons Learned:* Wish I’d brought a rag to wipe down the skis before re-skinning. The snow was so wet that it soaked into everything, and once the skins get saturated, they stop sticking. Definitely bringing one next time.
*Conditions Recap:* It was a *beautiful* day—barely any clouds until late afternoon when a little cover rolled in (which was actually nice for a break from the sun). But the snow got super sticky as it warmed up, making it tough to keep momentum. We were basically *stuck* at times trying to glide back, which was even worse for the splitboarders. Splitboarding… great sport, but man, days like that really test it (just kidding—kind of).
After getting back to the lot, we cracked some cold Bodhisatvas, relaxed, and talked about upcoming adventures. I’ve got three weeks before my new job starts, so the plan is to squeeze in as much as possible. We tossed around ideas like Glacier Peak, which Reid told us he’d trail-run in under 24 hours (wild—he said doing it over three days is the way to go).
We also got to talking about travel dreams—Japan came up a lot. Okinawa and tropical Japan sound awesome, but I’m personally eyeing snowy northern Japan—Hokkaido is definitely on the bucket list.
And a random side note: yesterday at volleyball, Ryan was telling some *wild* stories about his time in Thailand—road rash from a scooter crash near Chiang Mai, insurance nightmares, and of course, Full Moon Parties. Those happen every month, apparently, and sound insane.
All in all, a killer day out. Super fun crew, gorgeous weather, and good vibes all around. Can’t wait to get back out there
——————————
The goal? Hit Baker for the first time this season.
The weather was *warm*—mid-60s, definitely on the toasty side for a ski day. We climbed up and reached our first high point around 12:30. First lap was through Dog Chute, and… wow, it was *wet*. A ton of loose, slushy snow made for some interesting skiing. We went back up for a second lap, this time heading toward Port Hontoon Point. We didn’t go all the way up but got a good bit of vertical in before calling it around 2 p.m.
By then, Reid’s dog Kola was *done*—hot, tired, and ready to head back—so we wrapped up and made it to the cars by 4:30.
One thing that stood out? Lawrence was actually the one who organized the trip, and it’s only his *first* season skiing. Pretty impressive that he’s already getting people together and planning outings like this. Honestly, it made me want to step up my own planning game.
On the way down, Reid and I were chatting about how tricky it can be to figure out who’s into what—some friends are stoked to climb mountains but don’t have glacier skills, and others are solid on glaciers but don’t have much climbing experience. We talked about maybe setting up a group chat or something for ski partners to make trip planning easier—probably something to kick off next season, since this one’s just about wrapped up.
*Gear Lessons Learned:* Wish I’d brought a rag to wipe down the skis before re-skinning. The snow was so wet that it soaked into everything, and once the skins get saturated, they stop sticking. Definitely bringing one next time.
*Conditions Recap:* It was a *beautiful* day—barely any clouds until late afternoon when a little cover rolled in (which was actually nice for a break from the sun). But the snow got super sticky as it warmed up, making it tough to keep momentum. We were basically *stuck* at times trying to glide back, which was even worse for the splitboarders. Splitboarding… great sport, but man, days like that really test it (just kidding—kind of).
After getting back to the lot, we cracked some cold Bodhisatvas, relaxed, and talked about upcoming adventures. I’ve got three weeks before my new job starts, so the plan is to squeeze in as much as possible. We tossed around ideas like Glacier Peak, which Reid told us he’d trail-run in under 24 hours (wild—he said doing it over three days is the way to go).
We also got to talking about travel dreams—Japan came up a lot. Okinawa and tropical Japan sound awesome, but I’m personally eyeing snowy northern Japan—Hokkaido is definitely on the bucket list.
And a random side note: yesterday at volleyball, Ryan was telling some *wild* stories about his time in Thailand—road rash from a scooter crash near Chiang Mai, insurance nightmares, and of course, Full Moon Parties. Those happen every month, apparently, and sound insane.
All in all, a killer day out. Super fun crew, gorgeous weather, and good vibes all around. Can’t wait to get back out there
——————————
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