After meeting in Bellingham early Sunday morning, the group drove out to the north side of Baker and hiked up to the glacier via the Heliotrope Ridge trail. They made camp at the base of the glacier and discussed the climbing gear necessary for a route like Mt. Baker's Coleman-Demming route. Paul went over the various knots used in climbing, which as Eagle Scouts they all picked up very quickly.

Monday morning began with a geology lecture, followed by an entire day of snow skills. Amidst weather that was far from ideal (on and off rain), the four learned and practiced setting snow anchors, cramponing techniques, dynamic and static belays, and roping up. At the end of the day, the entire group roped up and did a walkabout on the Easton glacier. "I feel like we absorbed so much on the first day," one of the clients remarked. "It was great. These are skills I know I'll be using in the future."

A drizzly Tuesday morning found the group on the lower reaches of the Coleman glacier practicing ice climbing skills. "We top-roped single ice pitches for a long time," Paul said. "We practiced ice climbing techniques, including using two tools and front pointing. We also went over prussiking and everyone got a chance to climb up and down the rope a few times using their Texas-T prussiks."

On day four (Wednesday) the climbers woke to their first good weather - brilliantly clear sky. "It was absolutely stunning," one client said. "Being up so high on Mt. Baker in clear weather is a gift. We could see as far as the horizon allowed." The group moved camp to their High Camp at 6,900 feet, just below the Black Buttes. They spent the day going over the mechanics of crevasse rescue. Paul said everyone was very impressed with how easy it was to haul the weight of a person with the z-pulley system. They retired early for the evening, planning to rise around 2am to start for the summit.

As planned, the group woke in the middle of the night and prepared themselves for their summit attempt. Unfortunately, the skies were not cooperating, but the group set out anyways admist swirling clouds that bore rain AND snow, in addition to high winds (up to 50 mph gusts). Eventually the weather just got too bad. Paul said, "We got right up to the col - about 9,100 feet - just below the rock rib that leads up to the Roman Wall. Everyone was feeling really cold and the weather didn't look like it was about to improve any time soon, so we decided to turn back. It was okay, though. Everyone got what they wanted out of the trip - which was to learn the skills - so they were okay with turning around." One of the clients agreed, "Yeah, it's just what happens in the mountains. You can't fight the weather. We had a great trip through, really hammered in those glacier skills. I for one had a great time."

The group returned to their High Camp at around 8:30am, packed up their gear, then plunge-stepped down the boot-track and off the glacier. One of the two boys remarked, "Plunge-stepping is so much fun! You just let yourself go and you can move really fast!" After picking up stashed equipment from their camp at the base of the glacier they walked the dirt trail back to the parking lot and arrived at the van at 1pm. Paul said, "It was a really solid group. They picked up the skills easily and really applied themselves. I know the trip was reward for each of them, despite the nasty weather."