The Trip
Mount Baker Ski Descent · Mount Baker, Washington
In the Wasatch you ski a line. On Baker you ski a mountain.
A couloir is a few hundred feet of commitment. A glaciated volcano is thousands of feet of continuous descent from high on the peak, in one long run, on terrain that only exists where a mountain carries its own icecap.
Three days: skin in and set up camp, spend a day on the glacier systems, then climb high on the mountain and ski down it.
You need to be a strong skier. You don’t need to have been on a glacier before—that’s what day two is for, and it’s why this trip is where many people make the jump from backcountry skiing to ski mountaineering.
Quick facts
| Length | 3 days, 2 nights at high camp |
| Summit | 10,781 ft / 3,286 m |
| Descent | Up to about 7,000 vertical feet when the snow reaches the trailhead |
| Ratio | 3 skiers per guide |
| Ability | Strong intermediate skier or rider, with touring experience |
| Season | April–June |
| 2027 dates | May 25–27 and May 29–31, or on request April–June |
| Rate | $1,400 per person |
What makes this different from a ski tour
The glacier. You travel roped on the way up, moving as a team, thinking about crevasses under the snow rather than just the snow itself. Those are the skills that separate a backcountry skier from a ski mountaineer.
The descent. From high on the mountain, with the summit above you and the valley far below. In a good snow year, you can ski from the top all the way to the parking lot—up to about 7,000 vertical feet. In a thinner year, the snow ends higher and you walk the last stretch. The snowpack decides; we’ll tell you what to expect as your dates approach.
Season: April to June
This is a spring corn trip. Snow on a big volcano goes through a daily cycle—frozen firm at dawn, softening through the morning, heavy by afternoon.
April holds a deeper, colder snowpack with more winter character. By June the corn cycle is well established and the skiing is more predictable, but the season is closing. Our scheduled departures are at the end of May, when the days are long and the glacier still has good coverage.
Timing that window is most of what your guide does on summit day.
What you’ll learn
Glacier travel on skis—roped movement and spacing
Crevasse hazard recognition and rescue fundamentals
Crampons and ice axe for the sections where the skis go on your pack
Route-finding on a glaciated peak, and reading spring snow through the day
Alpine camp systems
Small teams
Three skiers per guide. On glaciated terrain, ratio is about how quickly a rope team can respond when someone goes into a hole.
Where this leads
The natural step up from Wasatch Ski Mountaineering — Classic Lines: same skills, a bigger mountain, and a glacier underneath. From here: Valdez, the Alaska Range, and ski expeditions.
Prefer to climb it? See the Mount Baker Climb—three routes, May through August.
This is a BBE program. We set the standards, choose the guides and decide how it runs. On the ground it’s operated by Wasatch Mountain Guides, our Utah-based operation, co-owned by Willie Benegas — so registration and payment are completed directly with WMG, and we’ll send you the link when you’re ready.
Questions before you book?
We answer every inquiry personally.
