July 3-4, 2010, 7-Finger Jack and June 13 Mt. Maude
7/3/10
WA Cascades West Slopes Central
1475
0
Three weeks ago (early June) my nephew Owen and I skied Mt. Maude. I won't go into all the details but here's the summary:
1) Spectacular spring runoff makes for interesting creek crossings along the Phelps Creek trail. Plan for ankle to knee deep fords at multiple locations. I wore Tevas the entire 4 miles.
2) Snow was continuous above 5,000 ft.
3) From the 6,800 saddle southwest of Maude we chose to head directly up the west ridge to the south ridge of Mt Maude. The lower portion of the south ridge is quite sporty and requires interesting rock moves around gendarmes and traversing 60 degree slopes along sharp arrets. I don't recommend it.
4) After spending a good hour negotiating the tricky parts of the south ridge we reached a nice flat spot around 8,000 ft. From there it was a very pleasant skin to the summit followed by a mushy ski down the south slope (recent fresh snow hadn't had time to corn up).
5) Rather than negotiate the gendarmes, we decided to ski the west face from 8,000 ft on the south ridge. This was a steep slope that required careful navigation through the cliffs and a fair amount of sluff management but ended up being quite fun. We traversed back to the 6,800 ft saddle and skied out Leroy basin.
6) Assuming stable snow conditions, I recommend going up and down the west face. With enough snow there are chutes that will take you through the cliff bands and you can follow your tracks back down.
Nick and I climbed and skied 7 Finger Jack this last weekend. Originally I had hoped to make a run at Glacier Peak but the weather forecast looked questionable. As we drove out Saturday morning we decided to head two ridges east in hopes of finding better weather.
Saturday was beautiful and warm and we found the only dry patch of flat ground to set up camp in Leroy basin (6,100 ft). Snow was mostly continuous above 5,500 ft. Three other parties also camped in the basin on Saturday night. Our original plan was to climb Fernow and 7 Finger Jack. Sunday early we headed north-northeast up the valley out of camp in Leroy Basin. The snow was hard and we booted to the head of the valley at 7,600 ft. By this time the clouds had rolled in, the top of Fernow was obscured, and we were looking at 1,000 ft of descending before starting the climb of Fernow. We had hoped that the reported 3rd and 4th class slabs would be skiable, but a steep rollover meant that this would require dropping in to verify. Given the committing route and bad weather, we decided to give up on Fernow and head directly up Jack.
From the col on the west ridge of 7-Finger Jack we headed south across a steep snow face (~45 degrees) following goat tracks that set a very nice line towards the broad southwest ridge of Jack. The goat tracks had been laid in when the snow was soft and provided nice steps to follow. Nick had not felt the need to bring crampons and an ice axe so I kicked steps across the slope to provide more secure footing. The southwest ridge was dry and we carried our skis up to about 8,700 ft before leaving them for the return. After an easy scramble to the summit we enjoyed the nice views of grey clouds. It was disappointing not to see Fernow or any of the surrounding peaks.
We climbed back to our skis, kicked a platform on the steep southwest face to step into skis, and started skiing down through the clouds. The snow was nicely softened and textured with enough dust to provide decent contrast with the grey clouds. The upper 1,500 ft was good fun skiing, followed by dreadfully runneled snow from 7,000 to 6,000 ft.
To maximize your skiing options, I recommend this area in late spring or early summer right after they open the road. Given the late snows this year, early June was too early (mush above 7,500 ft) and early July was too late (runnels below 7,000 ft). Maybe there was a week somewhere in there with perfect smooth corn¦ Both mountains offer sections of exposed steep skiing and require stable snow conditions. Of course, the north face of Maude is where the truly serious skiers head.
1) Spectacular spring runoff makes for interesting creek crossings along the Phelps Creek trail. Plan for ankle to knee deep fords at multiple locations. I wore Tevas the entire 4 miles.
2) Snow was continuous above 5,000 ft.
3) From the 6,800 saddle southwest of Maude we chose to head directly up the west ridge to the south ridge of Mt Maude. The lower portion of the south ridge is quite sporty and requires interesting rock moves around gendarmes and traversing 60 degree slopes along sharp arrets. I don't recommend it.
4) After spending a good hour negotiating the tricky parts of the south ridge we reached a nice flat spot around 8,000 ft. From there it was a very pleasant skin to the summit followed by a mushy ski down the south slope (recent fresh snow hadn't had time to corn up).
5) Rather than negotiate the gendarmes, we decided to ski the west face from 8,000 ft on the south ridge. This was a steep slope that required careful navigation through the cliffs and a fair amount of sluff management but ended up being quite fun. We traversed back to the 6,800 ft saddle and skied out Leroy basin.
6) Assuming stable snow conditions, I recommend going up and down the west face. With enough snow there are chutes that will take you through the cliff bands and you can follow your tracks back down.
Nick and I climbed and skied 7 Finger Jack this last weekend. Originally I had hoped to make a run at Glacier Peak but the weather forecast looked questionable. As we drove out Saturday morning we decided to head two ridges east in hopes of finding better weather.
Saturday was beautiful and warm and we found the only dry patch of flat ground to set up camp in Leroy basin (6,100 ft). Snow was mostly continuous above 5,500 ft. Three other parties also camped in the basin on Saturday night. Our original plan was to climb Fernow and 7 Finger Jack. Sunday early we headed north-northeast up the valley out of camp in Leroy Basin. The snow was hard and we booted to the head of the valley at 7,600 ft. By this time the clouds had rolled in, the top of Fernow was obscured, and we were looking at 1,000 ft of descending before starting the climb of Fernow. We had hoped that the reported 3rd and 4th class slabs would be skiable, but a steep rollover meant that this would require dropping in to verify. Given the committing route and bad weather, we decided to give up on Fernow and head directly up Jack.
From the col on the west ridge of 7-Finger Jack we headed south across a steep snow face (~45 degrees) following goat tracks that set a very nice line towards the broad southwest ridge of Jack. The goat tracks had been laid in when the snow was soft and provided nice steps to follow. Nick had not felt the need to bring crampons and an ice axe so I kicked steps across the slope to provide more secure footing. The southwest ridge was dry and we carried our skis up to about 8,700 ft before leaving them for the return. After an easy scramble to the summit we enjoyed the nice views of grey clouds. It was disappointing not to see Fernow or any of the surrounding peaks.
We climbed back to our skis, kicked a platform on the steep southwest face to step into skis, and started skiing down through the clouds. The snow was nicely softened and textured with enough dust to provide decent contrast with the grey clouds. The upper 1,500 ft was good fun skiing, followed by dreadfully runneled snow from 7,000 to 6,000 ft.
To maximize your skiing options, I recommend this area in late spring or early summer right after they open the road. Given the late snows this year, early June was too early (mush above 7,500 ft) and early July was too late (runnels below 7,000 ft). Maybe there was a week somewhere in there with perfect smooth corn¦ Both mountains offer sections of exposed steep skiing and require stable snow conditions. Of course, the north face of Maude is where the truly serious skiers head.
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