June 14, Mt Maude, North Face

Booth Haley and I skied the North Face of Mount Maude on Monday. Drove up on Sunday with bikes this time in case we couldn't drive to the Phelps Creek TH. As it were, there was a ****** blowdown barely half a mile from where the road turns into dirt, still some ~13 miles from the TH. After trying unsuccessfully to push it with my subi, and thinking that burning it might not be a good idea, we decided to camp and bike in the next morning. I never thought a chainsaw would be a candidate for my quiver... Got up at 4am, and after a quick breakfast we where on our way, on our very convenient road bikes. The Phelps creek trail is in pretty good condition, though there's a couple pretty full streams running through it, one we had to cross barefoot. Eventually, we decided to make a right turn, and went up lookers right of Leroy creek.

Came out of the trees just under the SW face of Maude, which was pretty beaten up, with runnelled gullies and wet slide debris everywhere. We climbed up the SW shoulder onto eventually the gentle south slopes that lead to the summit- we saw 2 ski tracks and a bootpack on our ascent route. Had a lovely little lunch on the summit, with clear views all around us. Glacier peak looked stunning.

It was below freezing at the summit but I was hoping the strong June sun had worked its magic on the north face- Booth is a badass and was in leather boots and 130cm skis, so we were hoping for a little cream. The face turned out to be just like Aaron's (who sadly was otherwise committed at sea level): beautifully chiseled, a paragon of beauty and a birthplace of intense emotions. Ok joking aside, it was f***** rad. Steep, exposed, super super fun. Quelle ambiance! Skied skier's right on the main gully, where the snow was a bit softer. Lower down, the snow has slabbed off the main gully, so you gotta go right or you gotta go left. I went skier's right where it was narrow but passable, Booth went left. We re-united on the glacier and started traversing east, towards the Ice lakes. We eventually traversed all the way back to the south side of Maude, and skied back down into Phelps creek down the basin immediately south of Leroy creek. After a somewhat miserable bike ride under bruising skies, we made it back to the car and Fraulein StPauli around 10pm, tired but utterly joyed after an amazing day in the mountains. Oh, and there's a ton of snow high up, lots of good skiing left.

A few pics:

Booth under SW face.


Upper portion of North Face:


Finding a way...


Lower down, it goes


Achtung Bergschrund!