Mazamas — For the Love of Mountains
Mt. Baker reclaimed the world record for single season snowfall in 1998-99 95 FEET, taking it from Rainier. Next to Rainier, Baker is the most glaciated peak in the lower 48 states. Easton is the most moderate route on the peak, and it's long with moderate crevasse danger.
Activity Notes
Mt. Baker, known as “Koma Kulshan” to the Lummi Tribe of Puget Sound (meaning ‘’broken or damaged’), stands 15 miles south of the Canadian border and is the most northern of the stratovolcanoes of the Cascade Range. Mt. Baker is the third highest peak in Washington. It is considered by geologists to be the next most likely of these volcanoes to show major activity. Fumaroles, thermal springs, and areas of warm ground remind us of that and of the potential for periodic releases of snow, rock and mud from Sherman Peak. The marine warm air from Puget Sound (just 30 miles away) brings a great deal of snowfall and glaciers which end up feeding three important rivers. Next to Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker is the most glaciated peak in the lower 48 states. Due to the glaciation and possible crevasses, it is very important that climb members be fluent in crevasse rescue. The Easton Glacier route is the most moderate on the peak, with the first ascent in the 1880s.
| Other Information | |
|---|---|
| Driving Distance from Portland | 290 miles |
| Driving Time from Portland | 5 hours |
| Expected Duration | Car to car in two or more days |
| Relevant Books | Summit Guide to the Cascade Volcanoes by Jeff Smoot Selected Climbs in the North Cascades by Nelson and Potterfield Cascade Alpine Guide: Rainy Pass to Fraser River by Fred Beckey |
| Relevant Maps | USGS 7 minute series, Mt. Baker, and Green Trails Mt. Baker Get a topo map, GPX track file for your GPS or smartphone, and KML file (Google Earth) for this route here: Mazamas.org > Resources > Maps for Climbing and Hiking. <href="http: "="" adventure="" c463="" starts-here="" title="On the Mazama Climbing and Hiking map page " www.mazamas.org="" your="">On the Mazama Climbing and Hiking map page <href="http: maps.google.com="" maps?f="q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Mt.+Baker+whatcom&sll=47.578668,-122.288132&sspn=0.03555,0.090466&g=Mt.+Baker+USA&ie=UTF8&ll=48.777347,-121.813188&spn=0.017364,0.045233&t=p&z=15&iwloc=addr"" title="Google map">Google map</href="http:></href="http:> |
| Awards Qualified | 16 Major NW Peaks |
| Useful Links | GPS Track GPS Coordinates Map |
