Baker Conditions?

Hi all, semi newbie here - so please forgive my ignorance. I am going to follow through this year and actually complete 12 months.

I was wondering if there are still smaller patches left around Table Mountain/Artist point?

I've been up to Muir a few times and raging through suncups doesnt quite sound like fun right now so I'd like to find something a bit closer. I'd settle for looping smaller patches than a big run if that makes any sense.

Thanks!

There will still be patches, you will be required to walk about 2 hours to get to them. From AP, take Table Mountain trail, fork left on Ptarmigan Ridge Trail, follow it until you are passing Coleman Pinnacle up and to your right. The 700' run that was here in early August is probably cut in two by now but something in that area will be skiable. You can go up the ridge that is SW of CP, and the run going NW from there on the pitiful remnant of a glacier is steep but now short and getting shorter every day. From the top of that ridge there is an awesome lunch spot at a locally high spot looking toward Baker, Sholes Glacier, and the Portals.

BTW sun cups likely.

Hope that helps,

Thanks Travertine that is great information.

In searching older trip reports it also looks like there may be patches above the Helitrope trail. Would possibly be better to head off in that direction?

I am not all that worried about suncups, I just got a healthy dose of very large (nearly unskiable) ones a few weeks ago on the Muir snowfield. My fun-o-meter was pegged at 0 until I hit some of the pebble patch snow.

Thanks again!

FS 39 Glacier Creek Road washed out and is closed until they repair it. Supposedly this summer. I assume they will update the road conditions page when this is complete: www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/conditions/road-tra...nditions.shtml#roads

I am optimistically hoping to go there for September turns.

Now that the road has opened (for the time being), do we have any idea what shape the lower Coleman is in?

I was kicking around the idea of heading up Sunday, but looking at the condition of the Muir snowfield I won't be expecting much... 

I think the lower Coleman is not where you want to be, especially in late season. The permanent snow field / (glacier?) up to the right on Heliotrope would be the place to find about 1000 vf from the rocky pinnacle to the bottom of the snow/ice (last October it was exactly 1000 vf by altimeter).