Mount Baker-Park Glacier Headwall. On July 4-5 Norm Bodine, Jim Friar and I completed a new variation of the Cockscomb Route on the northeast face of Mount Baker, the Park Glacier Headwall. One of the standard variations of this route ascends the rightmost part of the face near the Cockscomb (a large rock outcropping) where the slope is short, uncorniced and not too steep; the other avoids the face entirely by traversing left under it. Our route ascends the headwall directly up the middle, starting at a large schrund and passing near the left edge of a group of rocks in midface. This schrund splits the entire face and is 30 to 50 feet high and overhanging. Access across the schrund was gained by means of a steep ramp of snow and ice (approximately 60° at top) which led to within 10 feet of the top edge of the schrund. A traverse on a narrow snow ledge, step chopping, and several difficult moves to turn the lip put us on the upper face. Three and a half leads later on the 60° face, the 8-foot cornice was turned and the summit plateau was reached. Snow and ice conditions were generally bad, and the protection was less than desirable.

Tim Keliher, unaffiliated