ira Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 Trip: Mt Maude - North Face - Date: 6/23/2007 Trip Report: Thursday afternoon I got an email from Joanna asking if I was interested in doing the north face of Mt Maude (1600 vertical feet on continuous 45 to 60 degrees snow/ice). How could I say no! Some quick planning of necessary gear and arranging times and Krystian, Joanna and I were off at 6 PM Friday. We each had ice axe, ice tool and crampons and then there was the group gear of two pickets, two ice screws, small set of nuts and a 30m 8mm rope.. We weren’t sure what conditions would be like so we had to prepare for a few possibilities. For those new to this route it begins at the Phelps Creek trailhead (3500 ft el), better known as the route to Spider Meadows. We arrived at the closest camp around 10 PM Friday night with plans to get up at 4 AM. Unfortunately during the night my altimeter watch battery ran out but luckily theirs didn’t so we were up at 4 and at the trailhead by 5 AM. The trail is quite level all the way into Spider Meadows, 7 mi, but we were only going to Leroy Creek which is about 3.5 miles in. All the creeks were overflowing their banks which made it a little harder getting in but didn’t really slow us down. However, crossing Leroy Creek was a challenge. It was really blasting along so we hiked up creek a ways until we could find a spot to jump from rock to rock using our poles for balance. Falling into the creek was not an option as it was running fast and deep and a fall would have meant a nasty swim. At this point the trail goes ballistic climbing very steeply to Leroy Basin (maybe 1800 ft in a little over a mile). This was a good rest spot and a time to get some good clean water and some food in our bellies. Looking up we spotted a group just approaching the 8158 ft col between 7 fingered jack and maude, our intended route. They must have gotten a real early start considering where they were and where we were and we had left the trailhead at 5 AM. We headed up on intermittent snow and meadow until it finally turned completely to snow. The snow was quite hard so we put on crampons and didn’t take them off again until we hit the summit. It’s a bit of a grind getting to the col with some 2000+ ft of gain. However, the snow was hard and just great for cramponing so it wasn’t too painful. We arrived at the col about 10 AM, now 5 hours from our start and almost 4700 ft of gain completed. Another break before the traverse over to the base of the north face. It was beautiful, sunny weather so we basked in the sun’s rays for awhile looking at 7 Fingered Jack and our route. We now saw the other climber’s again who were just topping out of the north face. Boy did it look steep. Were we really going to climb that thing? Pictures from Krystian: www.flickr.com/photos/13118816@N00/sets/72157600480079132/ Pictures from Ira: http://picasaweb.google.com/ira.rushwald/MtMaudeNorthFace Hell yes! We dropped steeply off the col and began the traverse. This could be the trickiest part of the entire route. Traversing across 45 – 50 deg snow with intermittent rock along the way that we had to downclimb in crampons. Nothing difficult, just had to be careful not to bite the dust, or in this case a steep descent into unknown parts of the glacier below. Finally made it to the base and it didn’t look that bad at all. It starts out at 45 deg and stays there for maybe 500 ft. Then it rolls back a little so we stopped for a needed rest at a rock outcropping to put on more sunscreen, get some water and food. It starts up again at the same 45 deg and holds it continuously until the last few hundred feet when it gets steep. Up to this point we were just using one ice axe and didn’t bother with the rope since conditions were so good and we all felt totally comfortable on the slope. The last few hundred feet Nelson describes as exhilarating. Yea, I can see that. ! It jumps to 55 to 60 degrees in this section so we all pulled out our ice tools to help us along. They weren’t really necessary given the great conditions but with 1200 ft of steep snow under our butts it seemed like a wise thing to do. We still didn’t bother with the rope as it just didn’t seem necessary. The snow had softened somewhat from when the first party had gotten there. We probably would have roped up if the snow had been as hard as it most likely was for them. Once up the steep face, there’s a little bit of snow and then some easy rock to get to the summit. Success! It was now 1 PM. 8 hours and approximately 6500 ft completed. And it was still sunny and beautiful. We hung out, took pictures, ate; all the usual stuff before heading back down. The return took us down the southwest ridge until krystian headed off to the right and said there looked to be a faster way down. He was right, so we headed off down various snowfields until we eventually got back to Leroy Basin. I was really beat by this point yet still knew there was at least 5 more miles to go. We had a good rest and took off again. Arriving at the nasty stream crossing, Krystian threw a bunch of large rocks into the water to make our jumping a little easier. From there it was 3.5 miles down the road to the car. That lasted forever for me. I was very happy to get back to the car at 6 PM. A long, hard day but really a great climb. Highly recommend it to those who like steep snow. Distance: about 14 – 15 miles Elevation Gain: 6500 ft (almost all of it in about 3 miles) Gear Notes: Gear used: crampons, ice axe, ice tool Gear not used: 30m 8mm rope, nuts, ice screws, pickets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikestuckey Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Great post. You passed us (the "elderly couple") on your way down the south side before you turned right. We spent 11 hours going from Leroy Basin up the southwest ridge and back to camp, which was a cakewalk compared with what you did in about the same amount of time ... the north face and 10 additional miles on the trail. Way to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catbirdseat Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 The nice thing about going now is that the approach and descent are on snow. Realize that on the NF you are just kicking steps in snow. Later on, in say August, you'll get neve and maybe a bit of ice, if you are lucky, but that traverse from the col becomes very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ira Posted June 28, 2007 Author Share Posted June 28, 2007 Yes, I remember passing you on the way down. compared to the other two i was with i'm the "old guy". In fact, i think i'm the same age as the two of them together, 57. Even going up the way you did is a fun climb and it's such a beautiful area. Glad you enjoyed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pamczak Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 he he - you are the pretty good shape "old guy", Ira. do you remember this one?: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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