Mt Baker Summit Climb 3 Day
We'll tackle the following objectives and skills:
- Push Your Limits - Take your alpine climbing to the next level on this glaciated Cascades volcano!
- Route Options Include - Coleman-Deming and Easton / Squawk Glacier Routes.
- Mountaineering Skills Training - Including crampons, ice axe arrest and glacier rope travel
- Summit Attempt - This will be a long day, gaining over 4,000’ of elevation over various snow surfaces and steep slopes.
- Descent - Once we reach our high point, we’ll descend the route back down to camp
Here's the schedule for your trip:
- Day 1 - Arrival & Tour to Camp - 8:00 am meetup with your guide in town. We'll do a quick gear check and review the plan for the day. Your guide will discuss the route up to camp and we'll make any final adjustments before we caravan to the trailhead. The rest of the day will be spent hiking to camp and learning about camp craft.
- Day 2 - Mountaineering Skills Training - We'll get an early start on the day, having breakfast with hot coffee or tea, and prepare any food for the day before gearing up and heading out. In this course we'll cover:
- Mountaineering Gear
- Ice Axe Techniques including Self Arrest and
- Team Arrest (for Glacier Travel)
- Crampon Techniques
- Mountaineering efficiency including the Rest Step
- Descending techniques for mountaineering
- Basics of rope team travel
- Day 3 -Summit Attempt 3:00-5:00am quick breakfast followed by an early alpine start. Your guides will set the start time based on warming for the day and the weather forecast. Prepare for a long day, where we gaining over 4,000’ of elevation over various snow surfaces and steep slopes. Once we reach our high point, we’ll descend the route back down to camp. We’ll break down camp, pack up our bags, and descend to the trailhead.
Here are the skills and fitness you'll need for your course:
- Basic Mountaineering Skills - Including ice axe, crampon, and basic rope skills are encouraged, but not required. Build those skills during the program or attend our Intro to Mountaineering Skills course prior to attending and spend more time climbing on Day 2
- Strong Fitness - Able to spend a long, active day outside, moving uphill at 1,000’ per hour for durations of 1-1.5 hours between breaks. Participants should be able to hike 8-10 miles, climbing 2,500 - 3,500 vertical feet throughout the course of the day. People with strong fitness typically have a strenuous workout 3-4 days a week.
- Mountaineering Gear - Come prepared with your own gear or rent from us
Here's what's included with your trip:
- Experienced AMGA Trained Guide
- Ropes & Gear
- Tent
- Stove & Fuel
- Group Safety Gear - your guide will be equipped with snow science tools and a first aid kit
- Wag Bags - for human waste disposal in with compliance 'Leave No Trace' principles
- Meals
- Ice Axe, Crampons, Climbing Harness
- Guide Gratuities
Download the Full Gearlist Here
Mt Baker 2 or 3 Day Summit Climb
Gear Guide / Packing List
Technical Gear
- Climbing Helmet - Mammut Wall Rider, Petzl Sirocco
- Headlamp - LED headlamp with fresh batteries; Petzl Actik Core
- Climbing Harness - Alpine or Rock Climbing Harness; Petzl Altitude, Mammut Zephyr
- Carabiners
- Two Locking Carabiners - Petzl Attache,
or
- 1x Triple Action Locking Carabiner - Edelrid HMS Strike Triple Locking Carabiner
- Climbing boots - 3/4 to Full Shank Mountain Boots; Suitable for the Season and Weather Forecast; LaSportiva Trango, LaSportiva G5 or LaSportiva Nepal Cube, Scarpa Phantom Tech, Scarpa Ribelle, Scarpa Mont Blanc
- Gaiters - Low Profile, Lightweight Gaiters; OR Flex-Tex II
- Crampons - Steel Crampons Compatible with Your Boots; Petzl Irvis or Petzl Vasak
- Ice Axe - Simple mountaineering Axe; Petzl Glacier
- Trekking Poles - Lightweight, Adjustable Poles with Snow Baskets; BD Alpine FLZ Poles
Head and Neck Layers
- Sun Hat - A Baseball Hat; Blackbird Mountain Guides Logo Hat
- Sunglasses - Dark Lens Glasses with Side Coverage; Julbo Shield
- Goggles (bring to trailhead, we may choose to leave at the car depending on weather)
- Warm Hat - Lightweight Warm Hat that Fits Under Your Helmet;
- Neck Gaiters - Light to Midweight Neck Gaiters; Buff or your favorite Face Masks
Upper Body and Hand Layers
- Long Sleeve Base Layer - Lightweight, Synthetic/Wool; Patagonia SunHoody
- 2 Insulating Top Layers - Light to Midweight Insulation Layers; Patagonia R1 & Nano Air
- Puffy - Midweight Down or Synthetic with Hood; Patagonia Fitzroy or similar
- Hardshell Jacket, Hooded - Waterproof, Gore-Tex, NOT insulated; Arc’Teryx Alpha FL
- Light Gloves - Light to Mid Weight for Warm Temps; Flylow John Henry Gloves, BD Tour
- Midweight Gloves - Mid to Heavy Weight for Cold Conditions; Flylow Super Glove
- Sports Bra - Wool/Synthetic
Lower Body and Foot Layers
- Underwear - Wool/Synthetic
- Socks - Midweight Wool/Synthetic; Darn Tough Via Ferrata
- Long Underwear - Wool/Synthetic “Long Johns”; Patagonia Capilene Air
- Softshell Climbing Pants - Breathable, Weather Resistant Pants - Marmot Scree Pants
- Hardshell Climbing Pants - Light, gore-tex pants, full zip are ideal to put on with boots/crampons on
Camping & Backpacking Gear
- Sleeping Bag - Down or Synthetic Rated to 20F; Feathered Friends Egret UL 20
- Sleeping Pad - Insulated Inflatable Air Mattress; Therm-a-Rest NeoAir X-Therm, X-Lite
- Compression Stuff - To Pack Your Sleeping Bag; Ultralight Compression Sack 10L
- Backpack - Lightweight, Simple 50 Liter Pack; Patagonia Alpinist 50, BD Speed 50
Food and Water
- Dinner - Your Favorite Freeze Dried or “Just-Add-Hot-Water” Meal for Each Night in the Field.
- Breakfast - Your Favorite Freeze Dried or “Just-Add-Hot-Water” Meal for Each Morning in the Field
- Hot Drinks - For After Dinner and During Breakfast; Instant Coffee, Decaffeinated Tea, Hot Cocoa, Tang, Whatever You Prefer
- Half Liter Nalgene Bottle - A Hard Sided Water Bottled that Can Act as your Mug For Hot Drinks and Water Bottle During the Climb; Nalgene 16oz Wide Mouth Bottle
- Soft Water Bottle 1.5L - Flexible Water Bladder; Hydrapak Flux 1.5L
***Please bring at least one hard sided water bottle.
- Water Treatment or Filtration - Katadyn BeFree Filter Connects to Hydrapak Flux Bottles
- Bowl - Reuse your Freeze Dried Dinner Bag as Your Bowl, or Bring Another
- Spoon - 9” Long Handled Spoon (For Eating Food in a Bag); GSI Essential Spoon Long
- Snacks & Lunch - Snacks & lunch for each day of the trip
Other Essentials
- Sun Screen (SPF 30 minimum)
- Lip Balm (with SPF)
- Hand Sanitizer
- Toilet Paper
Optional
- First Aid/blister Kit - We recommend KT Tape Blister Prevention
- Chemical Hand Warmers
- Hydration System - Flexible Water Bladder with Hose; Hydrapak, Camelback, Platypus
Group Gear
Blackbird Mountain Guides will supply all of the group gear for the trip, including:
- Slingfin Tents (Designed and Headquartered in Berkeley, CA)
- Stoves
- Fuel for Stoves
- Ropes
- Snow Pickets (if required)
- Rock Protection (if required)
- Guide’s First Aid Kits
- Wag Bags (Solid Human Waste Disposal Bags)
Know Before you go
Blackbird Mountain Guides offers both scheduled group programs and private programs.
Private programs are simply above and beyond what Blackbird Mountain Guides currently has scheduled. Scheduled courses are not always less expensive. Before booking a trip with Blackbird Mountain Guides, clients are encouraged to review the differences between these types of programs, and to decide what works best for them.
SCHEDULED PROGRAMS
Scheduled Programs have fixed dates, itineraries, objectives, curriculum, and costs. They typically appeal to solo individuals or small groups or who are looking to share the cost of their program with a larger group. Correspondingly, scheduled programs are less expensive for smaller groups (1-2), and they provide the opportunity to meet others with similar interests. If you have a large group (3+), Scheduled programs will often be more expensive. They can fill up quickly, and scheduling flexibility is obviously limited.
Scheduled programs will have advertised dates. All scheduled programs can be run as private programs with private dates/rates as well.
PRIVATE PROGRAMS
Private programs have scheduling freedom. They typically appeal to those who would like some flexibility in planning their own trip or course. In this regard, Itineraries and objectives can be tailored to suit current conditions as well as client goals. Private programs are normally less expensive for larger groups (3+). If you have a small group (1-2) private programs will be more expensive.
Day 1
8:00am Meet your guide at the trailhead. We'll do a quick gear check and review the plan for the day. The guide will discuss the route up to camp and we'll make any last minute adjustments needed.
8:30am Ascend to camp and build camp.
12:00pm Snow School. In this program we'll cover: Mountaineering Gear, Ice Axe Techniques including Self Arrest and Team Arrest (for Glacier Travel), Crampon Techniques, Mountaineering efficiency including the Rest Step, Descending techniques for mountaineering, Basics of rope team travel
5:00pm Dinner and bed. We’ll review the plan for the following day, pack what we can to prepare, and get to bed early to set ourselves up for an alpine start for the summit attempt!
Day 2
Alpine Start. Your guides will set the time based on warming for the day and the weather forecast. Summit Attempt. This will be a long day, gaining over 4,000’ of elevation over various snow surfaces and steep slopes. Once we reach our high point, we’ll descend the route back down to camp.
Day 3
Break down camp, pack up our bags and descend to the trailhead. We’ll aim to be down by early afternoon.
We'll tackle the following objectives and skills:
- Push Your Limits - Take your alpine climbing to the next level on this glaciated Cascades volcano!
- Route Options Include - Coleman-Deming and Easton / Squawk Glacier Routes.
- Mountaineering Skills Training - Including crampons, ice axe arrest and glacier rope travel
- Summit Attempt - This will be a long day, gaining over 4,000’ of elevation over various snow surfaces and steep slopes.
- Descent - Once we reach our high point, we’ll descend the route back down to camp
Here's the schedule for your trip:
- Day 1 - Arrival & Tour to Camp - 8:00 am meetup with your guide in town. We'll do a quick gear check and review the plan for the day. Your guide will discuss the route up to camp and we'll make any final adjustments before we caravan to the trailhead. The rest of the day will be spent hiking to camp and learning about camp craft.
- Day 2 - Mountaineering Skills Training - We'll get an early start on the day, having breakfast with hot coffee or tea, and prepare any food for the day before gearing up and heading out. In this course we'll cover:
- Mountaineering Gear
- Ice Axe Techniques including Self Arrest and
- Team Arrest (for Glacier Travel)
- Crampon Techniques
- Mountaineering efficiency including the Rest Step
- Descending techniques for mountaineering
- Basics of rope team travel
- Day 3 -Summit Attempt 3:00-5:00am quick breakfast followed by an early alpine start. Your guides will set the start time based on warming for the day and the weather forecast. Prepare for a long day, where we gaining over 4,000’ of elevation over various snow surfaces and steep slopes. Once we reach our high point, we’ll descend the route back down to camp. We’ll break down camp, pack up our bags, and descend to the trailhead.
Here are the skills and fitness you'll need for your course:
- Basic Mountaineering Skills - Including ice axe, crampon, and basic rope skills are encouraged, but not required. Build those skills during the program or attend our Intro to Mountaineering Skills course prior to attending and spend more time climbing on Day 2
- Strong Fitness - Able to spend a long, active day outside, moving uphill at 1,000’ per hour for durations of 1-1.5 hours between breaks. Participants should be able to hike 8-10 miles, climbing 2,500 - 3,500 vertical feet throughout the course of the day. People with strong fitness typically have a strenuous workout 3-4 days a week.
- Mountaineering Gear - Come prepared with your own gear or rent from us
Here's what's included with your trip:
- Experienced AMGA Trained Guide
- Ropes & Gear
- Tent
- Stove & Fuel
- Group Safety Gear - your guide will be equipped with snow science tools and a first aid kit
- Wag Bags - for human waste disposal in with compliance 'Leave No Trace' principles
- Meals
- Ice Axe, Crampons, Climbing Harness
- Guide Gratuities
Download the Full Gearlist Here
Mt Baker 2 or 3 Day Summit Climb
Gear Guide / Packing List
Technical Gear
- Climbing Helmet - Mammut Wall Rider, Petzl Sirocco
- Headlamp - LED headlamp with fresh batteries; Petzl Actik Core
- Climbing Harness - Alpine or Rock Climbing Harness; Petzl Altitude, Mammut Zephyr
- Carabiners
- Two Locking Carabiners - Petzl Attache,
or
- 1x Triple Action Locking Carabiner - Edelrid HMS Strike Triple Locking Carabiner
- Climbing boots - 3/4 to Full Shank Mountain Boots; Suitable for the Season and Weather Forecast; LaSportiva Trango, LaSportiva G5 or LaSportiva Nepal Cube, Scarpa Phantom Tech, Scarpa Ribelle, Scarpa Mont Blanc
- Gaiters - Low Profile, Lightweight Gaiters; OR Flex-Tex II
- Crampons - Steel Crampons Compatible with Your Boots; Petzl Irvis or Petzl Vasak
- Ice Axe - Simple mountaineering Axe; Petzl Glacier
- Trekking Poles - Lightweight, Adjustable Poles with Snow Baskets; BD Alpine FLZ Poles
Head and Neck Layers
- Sun Hat - A Baseball Hat; Blackbird Mountain Guides Logo Hat
- Sunglasses - Dark Lens Glasses with Side Coverage; Julbo Shield
- Goggles (bring to trailhead, we may choose to leave at the car depending on weather)
- Warm Hat - Lightweight Warm Hat that Fits Under Your Helmet;
- Neck Gaiters - Light to Midweight Neck Gaiters; Buff or your favorite Face Masks
Upper Body and Hand Layers
- Long Sleeve Base Layer - Lightweight, Synthetic/Wool; Patagonia SunHoody
- 2 Insulating Top Layers - Light to Midweight Insulation Layers; Patagonia R1 & Nano Air
- Puffy - Midweight Down or Synthetic with Hood; Patagonia Fitzroy or similar
- Hardshell Jacket, Hooded - Waterproof, Gore-Tex, NOT insulated; Arc’Teryx Alpha FL
- Light Gloves - Light to Mid Weight for Warm Temps; Flylow John Henry Gloves, BD Tour
- Midweight Gloves - Mid to Heavy Weight for Cold Conditions; Flylow Super Glove
- Sports Bra - Wool/Synthetic
Lower Body and Foot Layers
- Underwear - Wool/Synthetic
- Socks - Midweight Wool/Synthetic; Darn Tough Via Ferrata
- Long Underwear - Wool/Synthetic “Long Johns”; Patagonia Capilene Air
- Softshell Climbing Pants - Breathable, Weather Resistant Pants - Marmot Scree Pants
- Hardshell Climbing Pants - Light, gore-tex pants, full zip are ideal to put on with boots/crampons on
Camping & Backpacking Gear
- Sleeping Bag - Down or Synthetic Rated to 20F; Feathered Friends Egret UL 20
- Sleeping Pad - Insulated Inflatable Air Mattress; Therm-a-Rest NeoAir X-Therm, X-Lite
- Compression Stuff - To Pack Your Sleeping Bag; Ultralight Compression Sack 10L
- Backpack - Lightweight, Simple 50 Liter Pack; Patagonia Alpinist 50, BD Speed 50
Food and Water
- Dinner - Your Favorite Freeze Dried or “Just-Add-Hot-Water” Meal for Each Night in the Field.
- Breakfast - Your Favorite Freeze Dried or “Just-Add-Hot-Water” Meal for Each Morning in the Field
- Hot Drinks - For After Dinner and During Breakfast; Instant Coffee, Decaffeinated Tea, Hot Cocoa, Tang, Whatever You Prefer
- Half Liter Nalgene Bottle - A Hard Sided Water Bottled that Can Act as your Mug For Hot Drinks and Water Bottle During the Climb; Nalgene 16oz Wide Mouth Bottle
- Soft Water Bottle 1.5L - Flexible Water Bladder; Hydrapak Flux 1.5L
***Please bring at least one hard sided water bottle.
- Water Treatment or Filtration - Katadyn BeFree Filter Connects to Hydrapak Flux Bottles
- Bowl - Reuse your Freeze Dried Dinner Bag as Your Bowl, or Bring Another
- Spoon - 9” Long Handled Spoon (For Eating Food in a Bag); GSI Essential Spoon Long
- Snacks & Lunch - Snacks & lunch for each day of the trip
Other Essentials
- Sun Screen (SPF 30 minimum)
- Lip Balm (with SPF)
- Hand Sanitizer
- Toilet Paper
Optional
- First Aid/blister Kit - We recommend KT Tape Blister Prevention
- Chemical Hand Warmers
- Hydration System - Flexible Water Bladder with Hose; Hydrapak, Camelback, Platypus
Group Gear
Blackbird Mountain Guides will supply all of the group gear for the trip, including:
- Slingfin Tents (Designed and Headquartered in Berkeley, CA)
- Stoves
- Fuel for Stoves
- Ropes
- Snow Pickets (if required)
- Rock Protection (if required)
- Guide’s First Aid Kits
- Wag Bags (Solid Human Waste Disposal Bags)
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