Safe Touring near Baker

Thanks Tim,<br><br>I think that I am probabally being overly cautious on this one...I have a beacon, a probe, a shovel, a saw, and I've read tons on the subject. I have the BD Video, the Staying Alive...book, and I've been reading NWAC stuff online. I realize what wet and dry avalanches are and what sluffs vs. slabs are. I know (some) of the stuff that I need to know.<br><br>What I don't have is experience. I am a firm believer in apprenticeships. This is how I learned to mountain bike, how I started tele skiing, how I learned to work in a school, bike shop, and outdoors shop. <br><br>I've jumped right into things before but the learning that occurs when I do this is far less effective than when I have someone with experience to learn from. I think I am going to jump into a Baker Class (Avy II) and I am sure that I will keep reading.<br><br>I guess that the biggest thing for me is reading terrain. I know that 17 degrees is the typical runout angle for a slide, but what is the difference between a valley that is safe and a terrain trap? When do you go to the top of a slope to cross it and when do you decide to take your chances? Do you trust the skin track that is established or do you read the terrain on your own??? So many questions.<br><br>I'm sure I will see you all out there in the next couple of months, I'll be the overly cautious one.

Better to be overly cautions than to have premature death. The Cascades are rugged and full of terrain traps. Even very short slopes can fill up depressions with feet of debris. And there are alot of depressions, especially early season...Tim mentioned the road up to the summer parking. If taken true to the road, there is a point at the last switchback that burried a few shoe-shoers a couple years ago. They triggered the relatively small slope from below I believe...Ski cutting is a good way to trigger slides and "clean" a slope, but is risky...Always consider a new route if you are not comfortable with an established skin track. It usually doesn't take much of a detour and you can link back up with it where you like....Stick to humps and ridges for safer uphill (or questionable downhill) travel. Hope this helps.