If you can see Mt. Baker, you are part of The Experience
This track was taken in October 2008.
The Coleman-Deming route is the standard route up Mt. Baker. It is essentially a walk up, but it does require glacier travel and potential crevasse navigation.
Start at the Heliotrope Ridge trailhead on Glacier Creek Road (NF Road 37) (Note: closed in 2013, scheduled to reopen November 2013). This road is covered in snow for much of the year, often requiring a long skinning approach. It is usually snow-free from late June until early October.
Hike along the Heliotrope Ridge trail. After passing Kulshan Creek the trail curves left and wraps around a small ridge. After the second waterfall you will arrive at a fork in the trail. The left path goes to Glacier Overlook. Right is a climbers trail that takes you to the Coleman Glacier.
Follow the Hogsback morraine up to around 6000 feet, where the glacier begins. Rope up when the snow slope steepens. At the edge of the glacier aim slightly east of point 7242 (Heliotrope Ridge). From Heliotrope Ridge head almost directly east for a while and eventually curve southward depending on how crevasses effect the route. Eventually you arrive at the saddle between the summit and Colfax Peak. Head left (east, lightly north) up the ridge that takes you toward the Roman Wall.
The route goes onto the upper Deming glacier. It steepens before arriving on the large summit plateau. Take in 360 degree views of the Twin Sisters, North Cascades, Coast Mountains, Puget Sound and Olympic Range.
RED TAPE: There are no permits required to climb Mt. Baker, but a Discovery Pass or a Forest Service parking pass is required to park at the trailhead. The Glacier Public Service Center can be reached at 360-599-2714.
