AAI guide Scott Schuman and climber Guy Sgan-Cohen saw beautiful conditions Monday morning on Mt. Baker's North Ridge. Having heard rumors earlier in the week from descending climbers that conditions were far from ideal and even that, "the route is at its extreme upper limits of its climbability", the two were not feeling optimistic for their attempt.

The weather had been unfavorable and rainy on Saturday when the two hiked into the glacier, set up camp, and spent a couple hours practicing ice-climbing techniques on a top-rope. On Sunday however, the weather improved slightly but remained unstable as they moved up to their High Camp near the Black Buttes and practiced some more crevasse rescue ice skills. "I wasn't sure what our chances were going to be for the North Ridge. The temperature was quite warm as we settled into our tent around 7:30," Scott recalled. "And then later that evening we were resting in our tent at High Camp when we heard voices from a returning climbing party. I went out to see how their climb had gone and ask them what route they'd come off of, and it turned out that they had done the North Ridge. They told us the route was in very poor shape - very slushy and barely climbable. We were then faced with a dilema." After some discussion, Scott and Guy decided to change plans and climb Mt. Baker via the standard Coleman-Demming route. They went to bed at 9:30, intending to get up around 1 or 2am to begin their climb. At 10pm, however, Scott's watch alarm went off. "I was confused when my alarm went off so early, but then I remembered that I had originally set two alarms, one for the North Ridge - just in case we woke to good conditions - and a later alarm for the Coleman."

When the first alarm went off at 10pm, Scott looked outside the tent to see a beautiful sky beckoning amidst the sunset. "It was fantastic! High cirrus clouds, excellent visibility, and a slight north wind. Seeing that, I knew we had a pretty good shot at the North Ridge. There was an unexpected high-pressure system that had moved in and it looked like the freezing level was going to really come down for us." Scott thought some more about the climbers who had told them the route was so awful and who had come down so late in the evening. "It made sense the conditions were poor for them. Theirs were also a larger party (5 climbers!), they had started at 1pm, and they had a high camp set up 1000 feet lower than us. They must have been on the route well after the sun had come up and had time to affect (warm) the route."

Scott and Guy decided then and there to go for the North Ridge, and were out of camp by 11pm.

Guy, who has taken courses in the past from AAI, returned just a few days prior from a trip to Alaska where he participated in AAI's 7-day Alaska Range Alpine Mountaineering program. "I was really primed for the North Ridge," Guy said on Monday. "After finishing the Alaska course, I felt pretty solid with my skills and wanted to climb something more challenging."

Scott's logic turned out 100% accurate. "Conditions were great," Scott said. "The ice was perfect. It really goes to show that you have to hit this route early." They enjoyed styrofoam-like snow conditions on the 50-degree ramp leading up to the ice cliff, then climbed two solid pitches of steep ice at the bottom part of the ice cliff. This was followed by three rope-stretching pitches atop firm neve on 60-degree ice which made for excellent ice screw belays. From there it was straightforward route finding through a few seracs to the summit. Scott said, "Aside from an initial bergschrund to deal with at the base of the 50-degree snow ramp, the route was in excellent overall condition."

Scott and Guy reached the summit at 7:55am feeling very satisfied with their accomplishment. "It couldn't have been a better climb," Guy said once back in Bellingham. "It was a good reminder that you really have to make your own decisions up here and take reports from other climbers with a grain of salt." Guy hopes to do more climbing with AAI in the Cascades before returning home to Israel.