After five great days of snow and ice climbing skills on the immense Coleman Glacier of Mt. Baker, we were ready to attempt a technical route on the mountain. Our group - consisting of myself, Russell Cunningham from Bellingham, and Dave Angert from Philadelphia - went to bed at high camp realizing we would be coming to a weather-facilitated consensus on which route to climb. We had experienced variable weather and times of rain during the week, so we decided to see what the weather was doing before we finalized our climbing route plans.

We emerged from our tents high on the glacier at midnight to find crystal clear skies and views stretching northwest to Vancouver, British Columbia, north to the Canadian border peaks, and east to the heart of the North Cascades. The route decision was easy to make in those conditions - the spectacular North Ridge would be our goal of the day.

The snow was firm underfoot as we cramponed across the upper Coleman Glacier towards the base of the beautifully defined ridge. We wove around numerous gaping crevasses en route to the toe of the ridge - Russ claimed that some were large enough to swallow an entire neighborhood of houses!

Utilizing the full range of snow and ice climbing techniques that we had practiced through the week, we enjoyed great cramponing on the entire lower and mid-ridge as we made our way up to the crux ice step. A short pitch of 70-degree ice and snow tested our advanced techniques, and the thorough practice these fellows dedicated themselves to really showed and paid off. Dave and Russ climbed up the steep sections smoothly and efficiently, making it appear almost effortless.

After the steep pitches, the angle relented and we were able to return to French Technique on the windblown slopes leading to the summit.

Glimpses of the summit started to appear as we navigated the final icefall. Blue skies and a gentle breeze whisked us upwards.

In almost no time at all we had gained the summit. A few hours of descent, breaking down camp, retrieving a cache of equipment, and the hike out rounded out an incredible day in the mountains.