Fri Feb 02, 2007 1:13 am Barometer Mountain 1-15-07
Barometer Mountain has yielded many winter trips for me, but this was the only trip that had views. The first attempt reached the summit after Stefan and Alton valiantly broke trail through fresh snow, but was covered with clouds. The second attempt stopped at Mazama Dome in dense fog after Ian broke a snowshoe. Two subsequent trips diverted to other destinations due to concerns about avalanche danger. This time the way was all clear, both for snow conditions and for views.
The route to Barometer has its ups and downs, and its acrosses. Is “acrosses” even word? Well it’s supposed to be the plural of “across.” We went down from the parking lot (4250), across Bagley Lakes (4150), up to Herman Saddle (5300), down to and across Hayes Lake (4778), and up the ridge to Barometer (5763), and then the whole thing back in reverse.
Making the trip on a Monday, we found the entire Bagley Lakes basin virtually paved over with ski tracks from the weekend, but hardly a soul to be seen today. In fact we only saw one other party before we crossed Herman Saddle and were alone for the rest of the day. Beyond Herman Saddle, only a single ski track showed any sign of human visitors this weekend.
Herman Saddle is oddly named, because it’s actually the saddle between Table Mountain and Mazama Dome, rather than the saddle to nearby Mount Herman. It’s a dramatic setting, because it’s the first place you see the dominant peaks in opposite directions – Shuksan above Bagley Lake to the east and Baker above Iceberg Lake to the west. It also holds special memories for me because it’s the first mountain pass that my son Daniel hiked across.
We angled down on the slopes right of Iceberg Lake to reach Hayes Lake and trekked across its flat surface to the col northwest of point 5166.
From there we just followed the ridge crest to the summit of Barometer. The ridge had a few brief steep sections. The summit was very windblown and cold, so we tagged it quickly and dropped back down low enough to enjoy a more comfortable lunch.
The summit did provide a good view of the line of peaks bracketing Herman Saddle: the high ridges of Slate, Herman, & Mazama left of the saddle; the long flat of Table Mountain right of the saddle, and Shuksan dominating the skyline directly above the saddle.
On the way back across Hayes Lake, I enjoyed the particularly fine afternoon light slanting above us to light up the long cliffs of Table Mountain and the bands of bright clouds above.
By the time we climbed back up to Herman Saddle, gray clouds hid the sun, but a few bits of colored light leaked through to accent the peaks as they fell into shadow.
Round trip 7 miles, 3800 feet cumulative gain (with extra 900 feet ups and downs each way), 7 hours.
-------------- "Matt, you are truly full of it. But you take great --- pics, in spite of that." Scrooge
-------------- ♫ You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. And you're the one who will decide where you'll go. Oh the places you'll go. - Dr. Seuss
A particularly nice rendering of the season's soft light. From winter scenes chalked with contrast to a more muted palette, the featured work serves to vicariously quench the tongue thirsty for winter scenery. The abstract focus in the vertical shot really allows one to be drawn to the striking details that typify an unruptured-February blanket.
If there were a more appropriate time for tea. . .
Wow! that trip was quite an accomplishment! This spat of clear, cool, dry weather stabilizes the avalanche hazard to not so hazardous. My relationship to Barometer Mtn is based on its wide, open avalanche swaths on its lower west-facing slopes on the Wells Crk Rd..
You didn't see but one set of ski tracks beyond Herman Saddle because the snow has been so poor for skiing for the last week or so. That's one benefit of snowshoeing over skiing; "Good snow" is not as much an issue for snowshoeing as it is for skiing.
-------------- "...my canoe is my yacht, as it would be if I were a millionaire." - Nessmuk
It's funny how often the best photos offer themselves at times when I thought the conditions were wrong. Late in the day, I was disappointed that the sun hid behind a band of hazy clouds in the west. But the soft light and shadowed peaks, accented with a few hints of color where the sun reached through, were actually much more appealing than the harsh contrast from direct sunlight.
-------------- "Matt, you are truly full of it. But you take great --- pics, in spite of that." Scrooge
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Beautiful pictures 
