September 21, 2002, Baker Summit-Coleman Deming

Ben and I decided a one day summit and ski attempt of Baker via the Coleman-Deming route would be the ideal trip based on some recent trip info. by some fellow backcountry folks. Left trailhead at 5:20 AM under a full moon, and reached snout of Coleman Glacier @ 6,500' by 8:00 AM. Climbing route was well defined boot track with fairly straightforward route finding. Spent over 1 hr. at saddle at 9,100' for snow to soften on Roman Wall. Summited late afternoon under clear skies. RW was perfect corn back down to saddle. Coleman route provided combo of corn and bulletproof conditions (esp. below 8000'). Skied out the climbing route with a couple of variations which required crevasse jumping. All-in-all an excellent tour for a volcano summit ski this late in the season.

David Coleman