Tag Archives: Koma Kulshan

Heliotrope Ridge   After a two-year hiatus caused by the closure of the Glacier Creek Road due to a massive washout, the Heliotrope Ridge Trail has regained its place among the supreme hikes around Mt. Baker. This iconic trail climbs 1400 feet in a scant 2.2 miles to reach the icy ramparts of the Coleman Glacier cascading down beside alpine …

The Mt. Baker Highway is unusual. As one of Washington’s few high mountain roads that remains (mostly) open in winter, it provides access to the alpine that otherwise just isn’t feasible in other parts of the North Cascades due to a combination of snowed-in roads and the abbreviated daylight hours of winter. The Highway, officially known as SR-542, is plowed …