July 14, 2002, Skyline Divide, Mt. Baker

Toby's report shows that he is a true optimist. Skip and I debated on Sunday morning whether to just go with hiking boots and an ice axe, or to carry the skis/boots up to the ridge in hopes of semi-continuous snow. We opted for skis and found that we were mostly carrying until fairly far out on the ridge, as the path was repeatedly interrupted by long dirt/rock stretches. We hoofed it back to the saddle near where the trail gains the ridge, and did a few laps of about 500 vf each. I think we saw Toby's tracks from the day before. Low turns-to-grunt ratio, but the views and flowers were great and the snow was suprisingly fun for turning.

Jim