Mt Baker & WA glacier slogs

Post by **Steve B** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 10:51 am

I am planning on doing a mountaineering course in WA this summer. I was wondering if anyone in the Louisville/ Lexington area would be interested in this. Will probably do a 6 day course with AAI. Will be in WA for 2 weeks, hangiong out and maybe doing some non-technical peaks in North Cascades NP. Looks like last two weeks of July. I plan on summiting Mt Baker with a guide. Possibly more depending on time/resources.

http://www.aai.cc/ProgramDetail/alpinism1/

Or this trip looks TOTALLY awesome, but not sure if time and/or money will alllow.
http://www.aai.cc/ProgramDetail/mountai ... adership1/

ON the second course there, you climb Baker and Shuksan as well as some alpine rock routes.

I am new to rock climbing, but have many years of backpacking experience. I will be doing extensive mtn bike ride to train for this as well as heading to the mountains to get some vert in my legs. Cumberland gap NP has a trail that gains a little over 2000' and is relatively close to me. A better training trail will be Baxter Creek in the smokies. It gains 4000' in 6 miles. FEEL THE BURN!

Let me know what you think!
BTW: I am 32 and live 15 miles south of Louisville

Post by **RRO** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 11:27 am

good luck with that steve !!! we have not saw ya down here in a long time. when you rolling back ?

Post by **Steve B** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 11:53 am

need too soon. My finger has been bothering me. I am not sure how I did it or when i did it. I just hope it gets better before the REAL cold stuff gets here. Any of your crew into snow skiiing? A group of us are going to Snowshoe Dec 16-18th. Got room in the van if you are interested. 109 bucks get you two days lodging and 2 days lift tickets! Cant beat that.

You should go with me to WA! Pass the word along to Joel for me please. I am not sure of his "handle" on here.

Post by **John E** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 2:38 pm

I did a similar course with Apline Ascents about nine years ago. It was pretty fun. I found that mountain biking was good cardio but didn't prepare me for slogging up a mountain with a 40 to 60 pound backpack. Get a stair climber and use it while wearing your climbing boots and a fully loaded pack. Baker and Shuksan are both nice mountains to climb. Do you know which routes you'll do? Get Fred Becky's guide books if you don't already have them. Have fun.

Post by **Steve B** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 9:28 pm

Here is the iteniary:
http://www.aai.cc/pdf_download/itinerar ... part_1.pdf

They dont specify. I think since this is a full on course instead of a "summit trip", they leave it flexable so you can climb the best route for the conditions while you are there. The 3 day climb with this company does Coleman Glacier on Baker.

The mtn biking will just be to get the cardio engine revved up and maybe some endurance work. It is fun for hours and hours whereas the stairmaster sux in like 5 minutes. Mtn bikers actually make better mountaineers than runners do. The muscle group is more closely matched with bikers and they typically exercise for longer periods of time each workout. Agreed, the stairmaster would be a more "sport'specific" type workout and ultimatly increase your chances of summiting. I just cant do it very long month after month. I will be doing dayhikes and such with a loaded pack. I would like to do that baxter creek trail at least twice as kind of a "fitness meter". I am actually used to carrying 50+ pound packs since I hike with my wife.

@Matt: I plan on getting over to the rock gym this week just to see how things feel. If all is good, look for me on a "warm" weekend after new years. Happy Holidays!

Post by **John E** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 7:13 pm

Both routes they mention for days 8-9 are pretty easy but still fun. The views are great.

I wish I could go out there next year.

Post by **Steve B** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 2:24 am

Yeah, the rock part of the 12 day course might bore some of you seasoned types. I am more interested in the glacier slog than anything. It is possible to do just a 3 day summit of Baker but I thought extensive glacier skills would be helpful to learn.

Post by **Steve B** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 8:09 pm

I think I am pretty close to getting this hammered out. Its looking like the 6 day Alpinism 1 class from American Alpine Institute. I think they climb the Easton Glacier route. Most likely date will be July 13-18th. Prolly fly out Friday the 11th. Have a day before to get settled, buy last minute supplies, and just in case of flight delays, lost baggage, etc.
Fly back to louisville either Sat 19th or Sun 20th.

This trip will be a breeze logistically(all things considered). We can get a shuttle from the airport(Seattle) up to a hotel near AAI's headquarters in Bellingham. AAI will come pick us up at the hotel on day 1 of the trip. They will provide all transportation during the trip. Get another shuttle back to the airport for departure flight. This means no rental car for the whole week. Nice touch since all you will be doing is backpacking/climbing the whole week and driving zilch.

Here is the class. Click on the you tube for some great videos. PLay the first one or go to the menu for a whole collection of clips. http://www.aai.cc/ProgramDetail/alpinism1/

I am still flexible and can also add days at the end or beginning of the trip for some more hiking, biking whatever.

Post by **Steve B** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 9:51 am

I am still planning on doing the Alpinism 1, but the date will have to be moved to June..Anyone interested?

Post by **Steve B** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:06 pm

Week of June 22nd looks to be the date. I would like to meet up for climbs, hikes, training etc before the trip.