Climbing Mount Baker in 2 Days | Easton Glacier Route

As a kid growing up in Bellingham, Washington, Mount Baker was on display every day the sun came out. In reality, this is only about once a week, because it rains so much.... Either way, as hikers and backpackers, we always considered climbing to the summit, but didn't have the gear or expertise required for the glacier crossings. This year, our friends Amy and Julie, who are avid mountaineers, reached out and asked if we wanted to make a summit attempt together!
The route we took was the Easton Glacier, which is about 2 hours from Seattle off of Highway 20. There were very few crevasses presenting danger at the end of May, but we could see the horizontal cracks of some starting to form.
After gathering all the necessary gear, including harnesses, cord for prusiks, locking and non-locking caribiners, webbing for slings, ice axes, helmets, crampons, pulleys, and mountaineering packs, we were nearly set. Leading up to the climb, we also got in shape physically by climbing whatever we could around Seattle in the early summer, hikes like Mt. Si, Mailbox Peak, Mount Teneriffe, Tiger Mountain, and the Howe Street stairs in Seattle.
Praying for good weather, we arrived at the trailhead Memorial Day weekend. There was about 100 cars, parked far from the trailhead as snow still covered the road leading up. We saw a good number of skiers and backpackers, as there is no permit required to climb Baker.
The first day, our goal was to get to about 6200', set up camp, and sleep as much as we could before heading up to the summit in the dark. At our camp, we overheard some other huge groups saying they were waking up at 12, so we set our alarms for 11:45 in hopes of a little solitude on our climb. Aside from one other speedy hiker, we had the route to ourselves!
Climbing Mount Baker was a lifelong goal, and I'm so thankful to our friends for being willing to train us and prepare us for mountaineering. I feel we had everything we needed to be safe and comfortable, and would do it again in a heartbeat. Now every time I'm driving north on I-5 out of Seattle and can see the summit way off in the distance, the volcano has an even more special meaning to me.
Total hike:
16.3 Miles, 8000' Elevation gain.
Huge thanks to Jordan Fujita for creating the music in this video! Check him out on Instagram @jordanmasaofujita
#hiking #backpacking #northcascades #mountaineering

[@AyayronBalakay]

i climbed her back in the late 1990s didnt have a good camera weird to see the route the landscape of the route is very ingrained in my memory beautiful.

[@NotSoTrippy]

Amazing Video man! What A gorgeous mountain

[@semoneg2826]

What a beautiful mountain

[@jamesostensen3187]

Great video guys, the weather looked perfect. As someone who lives just outside Vancouver BC I feel that same way looking at Baker almost every day. I've hiked the Heliotrope trail to Hogsback as well as the railroad grade south side. Both were beautiful hikes but I never attempted a summit bid. Didn't have the knowledge or experience to take the risk. One day. Nice job, stay safe

[@chasethealberts]

You can do it! It does help that we had experienced friends extend an invite. Wouldn’t want to try it without the correct gear.

[@Unoriginal____Starwalker]

This is just... It's really cool. It makes me sad that I'll probably never do something like this. Thank you for documenting it. The world appreciates it. Edit: Actually, how would you recommend someone get into this? I've always been fascinated by climbing and traveling, but I don't know where to start.

[@chasethealberts]

Thank you! First off, start with some simple hikes to see if it’s something you enjoy. From there, see if you can do a five mile hike, then ten, then fifteen, then try with a backpack on. If you’re still feeling strong, you can do it! There are a number of groups and companies that take folks up Mount Baker, so if you didn’t want to get all the gear you can sign up and they’ll help you with the training and preparation. We saw Alpine Ascents getting ready while we were parking.

[@chilkootsailor492]

Worrying about if you can is the biggest obstacle to that very question. Whatever it is, do it.

[@tobetherockyman]

Envy u.. my bucket list.

[@markkinnard796]

Good Job!

[@PNW_z71]

This looks awesome.. crazy how long something so "short" takes. Its about 15 miles out and back, right?

[@chasethealberts]

Just a bit over for us, since we had to park far from the trailhead. About 16.5 miles, here’s our AllTrails route: www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/afternoon-hike-at-mount-baker-via-easton-glacier-bc57386?p=-1&sh=ud7hlu

[@andis9076]

Do u leave the tent on the way up or have to pack everything before go up? Great view.

[@chasethealberts]

We just ditched the tent and headed up, and even took a nap on our way back down.