Another attempt of Mount Baker in challenging conditions. Almost identical to last year with rain and high winds, however being late July the air was warm and humid, and despite getting absolutely drenched, we didn't really get cold, which is the only reason we were able to make it. Half the parties camped at the Hogsback and higher didn't even make the attempt. Some others left really early (1 - 2 am - not sure why in those conditions) and turned back - we ran into them coming down as we were heading up at 4:30 am.

Luckily the route was easy to follow in such low visibility. Some crevasse navigation required as the boot path ran straight into a couple of crevasses that could no longer be stepped over. We did 3 end runs of crevasses that we didn't feel comfortable jumping. Once the sun comes back out there are going to be a lot more holes to navigate pretty quickly. Estimate we went around/over 20 or 25. The route is really straight forward - it was a shame not to be able to see the Black Buttes or Colfax. At the base of the Pumice Ridge, we ran into the only other party (guide and 3 clients) this high on the mountain on this side. We let them lead up the Ridge, which is snow free and easy to navigate, and then we hauled up the Roman Headwall. At this point the rain picked up and the wind was really getting nasty. By the time we got to the summit, a complete white out and rain and ice pellets being blown sideways. We wandered across the endless summit for 10 minutes and then beat a hasty retreat. There was no one else up there that we could see, although with zero visibility it's possible we just didn't see them.

All in all pretty rewarding to make it in such conditions, but really would have liked to have seen some views. Few pictures to speak of, since there wasn't much to take photos of, and didn't want to kill the phone with the wet weather. Our first time doing a glacier climb as a party of two, so a significant achievement for us. Camping at Hogsback was nice with the views and running water and flat spots, but oh, those mice!