The Mount Baker Ultra is a 56 mile out and back foot race from the town of Concrete Washington to Mount Baker’s Sherman peak at 10,160ft (3,097m). The race draws its inspiration from the century old Mount Baker Marathon that lasted for three years from 1911-1913. The town of Concrete …
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The Mount Baker Ultra is a 56 mile out and back foot race from the town of Concrete Washington to Mount Baker’s Sherman peak at 10,160ft (3,097m). The race draws its inspiration from the century old Mount Baker Marathon that lasted for three years from 1911-1913.
The town of Concrete is located on Highway 20, 96 miles from Seattle or 170 kilometers from Vancouver BC. Concrete sits at an elevation of 276ft.
Sherman peak is the second highest peak on Mount Baker, with Grant peak being the highest at an additional 621ft. Sherman peak is on the list of “Top 100 Washington Peaks”
The course covers 41 miles of forest service roads, 5.5 miles of snow trail and 3.5 miles of glacier travel. All glacier travel will require participants to wear a harness and use an ascending device to ascend and descend fixed ropes flanking the entirety of the Squak glacier. This is an extreme mountain event, weather, elevation and exhaustion add to it’s difficulty. High winds, freezing temperatures, snow, rain, lightning and avalanches may occur at anytime. Depending on mountain conditions the race organization reserves the right to move the turnaround from the summit before or during the event.
The Mount Baker Ultra Marathon will start at 12:00 AM Sunday. The race has a 50 participant limit and an overall (soft) cutoff time of 18 hours or 6:00PM.
From the start in downtown Concrete the course will follow Forest Service roads out to the Upper Baker Dam, where you may get your first glimpse of the mountain. After 26 miles competitors will ascend the Squak glacier traversing over a mile and a half of fixed ropes. Once you have reached the summit it’s all down hill from there, retracing your steps back to the finish in Concrete.
The weather and snow conditions can be extremely varied, from raging snow storms to blistering heat. This should not be a participants first time in severe mountainous conditions. All participants should have the ability to be self sufficient while on the mountain. There will be aid stations manned by volunteers on the glacier for your safety.
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