Roosevelt Glacier retreat and thinning pics.

Thought this was an interesting couple of comparative pics. One is from Oct. 2003 and one is from Sept. 27th, 2009. Can you guess which is which?!

Your pictures show a dramatic amount of stagnation and wasting.  Here's another picture, by John Scurlock, that knocked me out:

www.pbase.com/nolock/image/117410889

Hi Lowell,
What's the gray layer? Very old ice? Ice with ash, indicating it's age? What is the marked line in the center that appears to cap the gray layer??

Hi Lowell,
What's the gray layer?  Very old ice?  Ice with ash, indicating it's age?  What is the marked line in the center that appears to cap the gray layer??

What you're seeing in the picture, I believe, is the outer edge of the summit crater exposed to the air. The surface snow and ice is gone so you're seeing some conglomeration of ash and pumice (the gray layer).  The abrupt line shows where the volcanic material ends and the ice plug filling the crater begins.  I've been told that the experts aren't 100% sure this is what we're seeing and they've asked climbing guides to bring back samples, but difficult travel conditions on the mountain have prevented this. I believe the gray layer has since been covered by new snowfall.

I haven't spent much time on Mt Baker in late season, but I would think it is very unusual for the summit area to be so bare.

Any idea how many miles it's retreated from 15 thousand years ago to present day? Did it ever reach Puget Sound, or was it engulfed by the Puget Lobe of the Cordilleran glacier (or both)?

www.nps.gov/archive/mora/ncrd/glacier/Chg40.html

Can you imagine that photo comparison!