American Alpine Institute Warning Mount Baker, WA Climbers of Huge Serac Expected to Fall Catastrophically This Summer

CragBrains | Post Tag for ClimbingClimbing
mount baker, washington,
This photo was taken by guide Jere Burrell. It is possible to see the crack at the top. Inside the box, one can see that the crack is likely quite a bit longer. It’s not clear if all of this will go at once, when it falls. There may be one big release, or several. Credit: AAI

Attention climbers thinking of tackling Mount Baker this summer. The Coleman-Deming route currently has a hazard that those climbing Mount Baker should be aware of. The serac on top of Colfax Peak is separating and will likely fall catastrophically sometime this spring/summer.

AAI guides have often seen people taking breaks beneath Colfax Peak in the debris zone. It is important that teams move through this zone quickly.

See the two photos that show cracks on top of the serac. These will give you an idea of how big this thing will go when it goes.

See also two map images that show the area that people should hurry through, both going up and going down.

mount baker, Washington
This photo was taken by AAI Guide Richard Riquelme.
This is where the debris zone has historically been located. Note that the route goes right through it. Credit: AAI
Another image of the debris zone, slightly zoomed out. Credit: AAI
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