Can You Locate this Scene?

This may be easy or a futile excercise... I was, for some reason, fascinated by this little rock formation years ago.  I call it a "keyhole" with the key.  A break in the ridge that has this spikey little rock (actually bigger than it looks).

It is not an obscure shot, it is on a well traveled route.

I was wondering if there is any particular name for this formation.  So, has anyone else seen this?

I know where it is. I have a 1939 movie by Dwight Watson that shows this feature. I think he found it interesting too. I don't know a name for it. I'll defer naming the location to let somebody else have a crack at it.

Well, not to spoil the fun....but it sure looks like high camp on the Coleman Glacier, snug up against Heliotrope Ridge. Funny that I never noticed that particular rock, though, so I'm totally prepared to be wrong.

FWIW, I was up there skiing yesterday: fine snow, few crevasses, wonderful views and good skiing just an hour and a half from the car.

Mark

A few years ago a secretary at WWU asked me if I was going up Mt Baker that year. I said I was, and she asked me if I would be willing to spread her dad's ashes on the Coleman Glacier. Judy is the kind of person who will do anythng for anyone, so I was hesitant to say no, but inclined to do so anyway until she continued, "Dad's name is Mr. Coleman, and one of his grandfarther's was the first person to climb Mt. Baker, and dad really wanted his ashes to be on the 'family' glacier. "

How could I refuse? After all, how much can a baggie of ashes weigh?

The answer to that question turns out to be "7.5 pounds!" Mrr. Coleman and I had many discussions about nice places to rest before the Coleman Glacier (such as at the trailhead), but he insisited that it was the Coleman Glacier and nothing else would do, so we continued upwards. When I found this rock, I knew I had found his home.

My congratulations to Markharf for recognizing the location without knowing the rock.  That is amazing! 

Of course Lowell is amazing for being a virtual encyclopedia of the hills.

Yes, this is at Camp 2, the Coleman-Deming route on Mt. Baker.  This site seems to be the "Camp Muir"  for Baker climbers.  The rock formation appears to be a window in the rocks at about 9,000 feet.

I have only been up there once, camped overnight in a tent.  But, I think perhaps some Baker regulars could give this feature a name? 

There is a melt pit right next to the crumbly rock that serves as a walk-in outhouse.  Also, I noticed that rock continually falls into the snow within about twenty feet of the rock - so don't sleep too near the thing. 

It is beautiful up there.  I met two ice climbers at the trail head and sadly two ice climbers died in a cravasse while I was up there.  Don't know if it was them.  I just saw the big helicopter flying around, thought they were practicing... read about the accident in the paper a day or two later.

Great story about placing Mr. Coleman's ashes, Tim. It is surprising how much a person's ashes weigh.

Can we come up with a good name for this rock? Maybe something that incorporates Coleman's name. The rock and its notch remind me of a sighting device. But the name "Gunsight Notch" is used elsewhere in the Cascades.

A quick Google found a page that describes "The Surveyor's Basic Tools" : the chain, compass, transit, theodolite, and level.

How about "Coleman's Compass"? I don't know if the name exactly makes sense, but it has a nice alliterative sound, don't you think?