Tag Archives: mt baker

Whether you climb up the mountain or go down the hill to the valley, whether you journey to the end of the world or merely walk around your house, none but yourself shall you meet. –   Maurice Maeterlinck, La sagesse et las destinée (Wisdom and Destiny) 1898   Early this year I got a call from a long-time climbing buddy: how …

It was June and we were just outside the Mt. Baker Ski Area near the Bagley Lake Parking Lot. My children—who have grown up skiing and climbing—were horsing around in the snow. They were sledding, throwing snowballs, rolling around and pretty much doing everything that they could to get soaking wet in spring isothermal snow. I wasn’t paying super close …

Winter has descended upon us. Skyline Divide, Yellow Aster Butte, and all of your other favorite high country romps are now— thanks to a thick shroud of snow—pretty much off limits until next summer. But there’s no need to put away your hiking shoes. There are scores of low country hikes that for the most part remain snow-free all year …

The North Cascades are a hiker’s paradise. The trail system that we enjoy in these northern mountains provides access to spectacular places and ranks among the world’s supreme networks of footpaths. Two of the finest routes in the Mt. Baker area are the Ptarmigan Ridge and Yellow Aster Butte trails. Both transport boot-clad acolytes across landscapes of unforgettable grandeur. Both …

Recently I made a five-day backpacking trip to one of my all-time favorite areas in the North Cascades—Image Lake, located high on Miner’s Ridge in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. For me, this is one of the classic views of mountains and lakes in the Northwest, rivaled only by a few other spots such as Picture Lake/Mount Shuksan and Tipso Lake/Mount …

In winter, the North Cascades are truly in their element; simultaneously softened by the blanketing snow and rendered more dramatic by the relentless fury of the elements. It is a landscape of extraordinary beauty, carved and chiseled by the weather of eons gone by. This is their season. Summer, as they say, is a beautiful lie. The Mt. Baker Highway …

All my life I’ve been attracted to aviation, photography and travel in wild, remote regions. Prior to building my plane, a Van’s RV6, I climbed and backpacked extensively in the North Cascades, but soon realized that I could use the plane as a platform for exploring it photographically and began doing so in late 2002. I became obsessed with that …

Over a hundred years ago, at age 28, my dad raced to the summit of Mount Baker and back to win the 1911 Mount Baker Marathon, considered America’s first mountain endurance race. On an October day in 2015, with my 80th birthday looming, I hoped to honor his memory by hiking a portion of  the trail he ran. My sisters …

The journey to Huntoon Point on a winter’s day, when measured in miles, is very short. A mere three miles separate you from the clamor and bustle of the parking lot and the spirit-lifting hush of this magical destination. And it’s easy too. You’ll climb a scant 1200 feet along the way with only a few short steep bits, and …

Growing up in Washington, I have been very fortunate to have been able to spend my entire life in the mountains. As a professional photographer, I am now be able to travel the world to search out the best powder and the best trails yet I am constantly reminded that we really do have the best of it all right here …