If it had been raining on June 1, 2025, Western alum Taiana Round would be summiting Mount Baker for the very first time this year.
Instead, despite frozen boots and rain-soaked layers — a result of the trek to basecamp the day prior — Round pushed through the physically demanding climb and reached the top.
Born in Boise, Idaho, the 24-year-old moved to Washington in 2019 to play softball at Edmonds Community College, and became an officer of Western’s hiking club after transferring to Western for the kinesiology program.
Standing at 10,781 feet, Mount Baker marked Round’s first mountain summit. Before the climb, she had no mountaineering experience and the highest elevation she had reached was 5,100 feet at Artist Point, a popular hiking area in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
One year later, with experience gained and lessons learned, she is going to summit the mountain once again on May 31.
Q: What first drew you to climbing mountains?
A: Being a part of the hiking club. When I joined, I got really invested in going on hikes and seeing more of Washington. I love to challenge myself, so I thought this would be a really cool experience.
Q: Why do you think climbing matters to you personally?
A: It is something that I am physically able to do right now. I’ve always been somebody who wants to achieve big things and test and push myself. If I think I can do something, I will do it. Especially for women, not a lot of women do it.
Q: Why do you think not a lot of women are mountaineering?
A: I think a lack of knowledge definitely has something to do with it. Mountaineering is a pretty male-dominated activity. When you don’t have the knowledge to do something, it can be scary to do it by yourself. Also, just the differences in natural physical abilities.
Q: Do you remember the exact moment you decided you wanted to summit Mount Baker?
A: My friends were talking about doing it already. And I wanted to join. At first, it was just an idea, but I was going to make it happen no matter what. I remember thinking, “I am never going to have another opportunity in my life where I know so many people who are experienced in mountaineering,” so I figured this was my time to do it with the people who know how.
Q: How did you train for the summit last year?
A: My friend Nick and I ran a lot every week. Cardio-wise, I was doing well. I went to the gym every day, lifted and did a lot of leg resistance training. I didn’t go on as many weighted training hikes as I should have, though.
Q: That level of dedication and pushing yourself is impressive, but it can be challenging. What makes you feel confident and capable?
A: I’ve always felt confident in my physical abilities. I played softball for 15 years. I’ve always been training or weightlifting, so I’ve always been active. My major was kinesiology, exercise science, so I spent a lot of my time doing labs and exercise tests in my classes.
Q: Tell me about last year’s experience and how you’re doing things differently this year.
A: I made a list of everything I’ll need for this year. Last year, I definitely could've packed more dry meals. So this year, I’m going to make sure to have more than enough things to eat. You don’t realize how many calories you’re burning. Something I didn’t think to bring last year was a rain cover for my pack. On the approach to the summit, it was pouring, so all of the stuff in my bag got soaked. All my clothes got soaked. Last year, the approach to summit was pretty brutal. It was genuinely really bad.
Q: Can you go into detail about that?
A: We got to the base of the mountain, we were going up Heliotrope Ridge, and it was heavily pouring. I had three layers on and I got soaked all the way through to my underwear. As we were hiking up, I honestly felt like I was on Mount Everest. Like those movies where you’re looking around and can’t see anything? That’s how it felt because the rain and snow were coming down so hard. Everybody was suffering. We got to camp and we literally could not set up camp because our hands were red and frozen.
Q: What was a mistake you made last year?
A: The night before the summit, I had left my shoes outside the tent. So they froze. This year, I bought dry bags to put my shoes in and I’ll put them in my sleeping bag when I sleep. Also, since all my clothes got wet, the day of the summit I was layering up in wet clothes. On the way back down, I said I would never do this again. And now here I am, a year later, doing it again.
Q: What was physically the hardest part of the climb?
A: The Roman Wall. You get over all these hills and then you get to the last stretch to the summit, and it’s extremely steep. The air is so much thinner that every step you take feels like fifty steps. Nick, who was on my rope, was really patient and thoughtful with me, so it was nice to be paired up with him. It definitely took me a long time to get up the last stretch. “Three steps, rest. Three steps, rest,” was playing in my head.
Q: How long did the summit take last year?
A: We left base camp around 4:20 a.m., which was way too late, and summited around noon.
Q: What surprised you most about climbing Mount Baker?
A: I knew it was going to be hard, but it was harder than I thought it was going to be. Also, the feeling of accomplishment was way more overwhelming than I thought it was going to be. I didn’t anticipate just how cool it would feel to look all around you, and you’re literally above the clouds.
Q: Is there anything you’re worried about for this year?
A: I had shoulder surgery back in December. Arthroscopic Bankart repair. And it’s almost totally healed but I am still going to physical therapy once a month. The thing I am most worried about is if I have to self-arrest.
Q: In your opinion, what are the eight most important things in your pack?
A: Waterproof gloves, sunscreen, sunglasses. Snow blindness on the mountain is really serious. You’re looking at snow the whole time and you’re so close to the sun. Water, ice axe, snacks, socks and a really good underlayer.
Q: What did summiting teach you about yourself?
A: It taught me I can do hard things even in moments where I question if I can or cannot do it. The power of telling yourself you can, can get you really far.
Q: Why go back and do it again?
A: I really want to summit Rainier. The best way to train is by doing a mountain like Baker.
Maddie Ferguson (she/her) is a second-year journalism student and campus news reporter for The Front this quarter. When she's not chasing waterfalls or playing chess, she can usually be found at the beach searching for sea creatures at low tide. You can reach her at maddieferguson.thefront@gmail.com.
