Artist Point Winter Day

1 Skinning up the freshly groomed Blueberry cat track (the road to Artist Point in summer).	2 Blueberry backcountry gate. I have my beacon and shovel, but I will stay away from high aspects, being solo.	3 Across the Nooksack drainage, looking at some of my favorite hiking areas. This is right at the Canadian / US border.	4 Crossed the Artist Point parking lot. I was last up here on a roadbike in August.	5 My skin track (I circled around to get these images).	6 A very snowy Mount Baker under a very blue sky.
7 Standing at the edge of the summer parking lot.	8 So quiet, I could hear a few backcountry skiers at least a quarter mile away.	9 Close-up of the 10,778-ft summit. Coleman Pinnacle is in the lower foreground.	10 Looking back across the lot, the pit toilets are somewhere below this drift.	11 A volcano between two trees.	12 Heading over towards Artist Point proper, these drifts made an intersting foreground.
13 Looking back north where I parked... somewhere down there.	14 A cornice that had a bit of a glow from some other reflected snow. Mt. Shuksan beyond.	15 Drifts	16 I took a longer break here with a great view of both nearby massifs.	17 Table Mountain. That bowl is like a solar oven on days like this -- best to cross early in the day.	18 A B&W treatment of Shuksan.
19 A sub-alpine fir gives my eyes a break from all the white and blue.	20 Upper portion of Mt. Shuksan.	21 A quick panaorama...	22 One last look before putting the skis back on and heading back down.