Baring Mountain (or Mount Baring), is a peak in the central part of the
Cascade Range
The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...
of
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It lies about northeast of the
Skykomish River
The Skykomish River is a long river in the U.S. state of Washington which drains the west side of the Cascade Mountains in the southeast section of Snohomish County and the northeast corner of King County. The river starts with the confluence ...
and
US Highway 2
U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada. Unlike some routes, whic ...
, at the western edge of the Cascades in the
Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. It is about east of
Mount Index
Mount Index is a peak in the central part of the Cascade Range of Washington (U.S. state), Washington state. It lies just south of the Skykomish River and U.S. Route 2 in Washington, U.S. Route 2, at the western edge of the Cascades. Despite its ...
and Barclay Lake at its base is accessible via Forest Road 6024 and a hike.
Baring Mountain was previously known as Mount Index before being renamed in 1917. The peak currently named Mount Index was known as West Index Mountain until that time.
Like Mount Index, Baring Mountain is a dramatic peak, because of its steep rise above low footings, the Skykomish River is at an elevation of only , and particularly because of its large, sheer Northeast Face, which drops about in only and drops another at a lower angle to Barclay Lake.
The first recorded ascent of Baring Mountain was on July 28, 1897 by John Charlton and
Albert H. Sylvester. However given the nontechnical nature of the easiest ascent route a much earlier
Native American ascent is possible. The standard route on the mountain is the Northwest Ridge Route, involving hiking (off-trail, some of it through brush) and a small amount of
scrambling at the top.
The northeast aspect of the peak is home to several routes of great length and technical difficulty (up to
Grade VI, 5.12b).
The northeast face was first climbed on July 13, 1960 by Ed Cooper and Don Gordon Claunch.
The first
BASE jump off Baring Mountain was done by Todd Higley and Josh Whipple, in August 2001. Michael McMurtrey, of Seattle, was the first to jump from Baring using a
wingsuit, in June 2004.
File:Baring Mountain BASE Wingsuit Picture 1.jpg, BASE Wingsuit Picture: First BASE wingsuit jumps off Baring Mountain (June, 2004)
File:Baring Mountain BASE Wingsuit Picture 2.jpg, BASE Wingsuit Picture: First BASE wingsuit jumps off Baring Mountain (June, 2004)
File:Baring Mountain BASE Wingsuit Picture 3.JPG, BASE Wingsuit Picture: Recent BASE wingsuit jump off Baring Mountain (September, 2010)
References
External links
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Mountains of King County, Washington
Baring
Mountains of Snohomish County, Washington
{{SnohomishCountyWA-geo-stub