Trip Date: May 12, 2002

Mount Baring Day Climb

Barclay Ridge
Baring Col
Mount Baring aka Baring Mountain (6125 ft)

Trip Report Summary

Region: North-Central Washington Cascades

Sub-Region: Skykomish Mountains

Area: Wild Sky Wilderness

Starting & Ending Point: Snow blockage on Barclay Creek Road #6024 (Elev. 2100 feet)

Way Points: Barclay Lake Trailhead parking lot (road walk); Barclay Ridge Saddle & Barclay Ridge Knoll (trail hike & off-trail hike & snow climb)

Summit: Mt. Baring (snow climb via West Couloir—Baring Col—South Ridge)

Approximate Stats: 6 miles traveled; 4200 feet gained & lost; 4.2 hours up; 2.5 hours down.

Related Post

>>> Mt Baring via West Couloir—South Ridge with Summit Camp – June 2016

Full Trip Report

Given a great weather forecast for climbing on Sunday but with Mother’s Day taking most of my cohorts out of commission, I decided to try for a solo ascent of Mt. Baring via the standard route (Northwest Ridge). Barclay Creek Road was bare and dry for 3.5 miles, promising an easy drive to the trailhead parking lot until, rather suddenly, I was stopped by a snowpatch about 0.3 miles from the trailhead. Even in four-wheel drive, I couldn’t plow through, and there was no indication that others had driven farther, so I parked on the shoulder.

A short hike up to the parking lot (at 2200 feet) and another 200 yards beyond brought me to the climber’s path (marked with a cairn). Like any self-respecting climber’s path, this one is steep, muddy and crude–yet easy to follow through brush and timber. At 3000 feet, I veered slightly left to a narrow snow chute and ascended it almost continuously to the ridge saddle at 4000 feet. A mile of upsy-downsy traversing ensued, sometimes directly on the forested crest and other times on steep snow slopes south of the crest.

Fortunately, another party had recently traversed the route, so I was able to follow their tracks all the way to the west couloir that splits Mt. Baring’s two peaks. The tracks graciously continued up the couloir to the col and then leftward to the main (north) summit. Snow conditions along the ridge had been firm and excellent for step-kicking, but the surficial snow in and above the couloir was somewhat mushy.

If this route has a crux, it is a short, steep step rising from the col. This snow step can be climbed directly or circumvented on the left; the right side is very steep and corniced. I donned crampons here for the remainder of the climb. Above the step, moderate snow slopes lead to the top. I reached the barely exposed summit rocks at 1:00pm (4.2 hours from car) and enjoyed a sunny hour of sightseeing and register perusing. The regional peaks were in full view but a high overcast and haze hid the farther peaks. Mt. Rainier was discernable in the distance, and I’m sure Mom was out there somewhere, too.

The summit register indicated that the first ascent of 2002 was made only one day earlier, by a Mountaineers scramble course (thanks for the nice steps!). Also, the last ascent of 2001 was on November 10th, by two different parties; wow, that’s late in the year! I suppose it shouldn’t have been a surprise that a large percentage of summiteers are from Baring, Skykomish, Sultan, and other nearby towns; obviously, the lure of Mt. Baring is strongly felt by local residents. It was interesting to read that the notorious North Face has seen two ascents in the past several years.

By 2:00pm, a chilly breeze had kicked up, so I began descending. The snow was now knee-deep mush until I reached the shade of the ridge; thereafter, it was still quite firm. Thanks to good heel-plunging conditions, the descent was rapid and without incident–except for an encounter with some adolescent devil’s club! Arriving at the trailhead parking lot, I was surprised to see five vehicles (all four-wheel drive types). Apparently, they were able to plow through the snow patches. A hiker there told me that the Barclay Lake Trail is completely snow-covered but well-packed. Farther down the road (2.4 hours from summit), I found my vehicle sharing the shoulder with a half-dozen other vehicles—all of them being mere two-wheel drive types. How embarrassing! Oh well, within a few days, the entire road will likely be snow-free.

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