KaskadskyjKozak Posted July 29, 2013 Posted July 29, 2013 Trip: Maude - Circumnavigation and Return Date: 7/28/2013 Trip Report: KH, SG, and I planned to do the N Face of Maude this weekend. With the long stretch of warm temps I was worried the route might be melted out and not in shape - and some route descriptions I found warned about this after mid-July. But the weather was perfect, so we went for it. We hiked in to Leroy Basin on Saturday. Prior to the trip we read a few TR's that suggested the traverse from the 7 Finger Jack-Maude col could be sketchy so we opted for what seemed like the "no brainer" approach of camping at Upper Ice Lake and approaching from the East. After some bushwhacking and 2 or so miles farther in in the sun with full packs we later questioned our wisdom in making this choice. Leroy Basin: Talus on approach toward the SW ridge: We set our alarms for 3:30 am on Sunday and were moving by 4:15. We thought the way around the side side of the lake looked shorter and started up that way. However the lake outlet was below a cliffy section and we could not easily see a way over it. We reversed direction and headed back towards the SW ridge, ascended to 7600 feet and contoured that way to the obvious col leading to the N side of the mountain. SG taking a pic at sunrise: The col we traversed to (middle of pic): From a map it appeared we'd be travelling about 2 hours from camp to the base of the route. It ended up taking us 4. Our team was strong, and none of us thought we were moving slowly. By the time we got to the base of the route, the snow was softening, with an inch or two of sloughable snow over hard pack. We were surprised by how melted out the N face looked. It appeared we'd have to zig and zag a ton around rock islands, and possibly do a few gear adjustments (crampons on and off). With some discussion, we reluctantly bailed, hoping to at least tag Maude on the way out. Our view of the N face from where we turned around: The traverse back was also time-consuming. But we did get some nice views to look at. Upper Ice Lake looking very blue, with beautiful sparkles from the sun's reflection: Once under the SW ridge we scrambled talus to a steeper section and did some class 3 moves for a few hundred feet before getting to the endless talus slope that dominates the SW side of Maude. Talus Hell: We guessed there'd be a trail on the far left (climber's), but opted to just climb up and angle that way. Eventually we hit some boot paths and topped out just after noon. KK posing: Summit p0rn: We found no register up there, so we just ate and drank our last water before heading back to camp. The hike out was painful with full packs after our already long day. The cold IPAs were quite welcome at the TH. Approach Notes: BLACK FLIES Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted July 30, 2013 Author Posted July 30, 2013 looks nice and loose! Like Torment and TFT? Quote
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