Table Mountain, Death Picnic. Due west of Austin Pass and the Mount Baker Ski Area is a mesa-like peak called Table Mountain. When it is cold, the east and northwest faces offer good one- and two-pitch ice climbs. In December of 1985 I attempted a 250-foot climb on the northwest face with Andy Selters. It began 200 yards southwest of Herman Saddle and involved hollow and vertical ice on the first pitch. The second pitch had a half-inch layer of ice separated from the rock by 8 inches of air. A bold mouse with some skill could have succeeded. We retreated. On December 11, 1986, Mark Houston and I did the climb in two pitches and found the ice better than the last year but still weird. The climb is comparable to a Canadian grade V.

Alan Kearney