April 25-28, 2008, Mt Maude to Holden Village
4/25/08
WA Cascades West Slopes Central
3219
1
Every year I get together with two of my closest girlfriends to do an annual ski trip. This year they traveled from Bozeman and Haines to join me and another local female on a trip right in our own backyard. As with many Washington ski adventures, ours began standing along the Chiwawa River Road staring at an early 1980s snowmobile. Alan, who we will be forever grateful towards, yanked until his knuckles bled to no avail. Oh well, we still had his other 1980s snowmobile and the ever trustworthy 1972 Moto Ski.
The first 9 miles went without too many glitches. A couple of dry patches in the road caused us to take our skis off and a small brush fire in Alans machine delayed us for 5 minutes or so while it cooled back down. As soon as flames had settled and the smoke was gone, it started back up and we were off again. A mile or so later, we hit another dry patch and just as I said, Im so impressed with these machines, 1980s snowmobile #2 decided to die. We stood around the machine for 30 minutes, changed a couple spark plugs and realized there was no hope for our mechanically challenged minds. Alan and Ian hopped on the Moto Ski and we headed north for 10 painfully flat miles.
Our journey up the Chiwawa didnt start until 5 pm, so we were forced to camp along the road the first night, making for a long second day. We arrived at the Phelps Creek Trailhead late in the morning and skinned along the trail for a couple of miles before branching east up Chipmunk Creek. The drainage was completely filled in and travel was straightforward. Around 6000 feet (dont quote me) we turned north, traversing below steep terrain and cliff bands to a broad bench. From there we headed east, towards a prominent saddle. From the saddle, the guidebook suggested making a climbing traverse to gain the southwest shoulder of Maude. We, however, decided to climb to the top of a small knoll that lied just to the southeast of where we were standing, making for a nice fall line ski descent to camp.
The next morning we arrived at the summit of Maude via the south shoulder. We stood on top for a bit trying to decide on what to ski. High winds, a previously long day, and changing weather forced us back down the south shoulder. Skiing wasnt ideal, but it sure was nice to ski with light packs. We packed up camp and traversed to the upper Ice Lake. From the lake we climbed north to a saddle where we proceeded to ski down towards the Entiat River. We accidentally got sucked into mellow, rolling terrain that suddenly rolled out of sight and my comment, I think this doesnt go ended up being an understatement. We skinned back up 500 feet and skied a ramp that led us down the Entiat Glacier to the head of the drainage.
From the drainage we climbed northeast to another saddle in the Chelan Mountains. From this vantage point, the North Face of Maude looked filled in. The lower slopes had quite a bit of avalanche debris on them, but it was hard to tell how recent it was.
From the saddle we played it conservative (too tired to want to put skins back on) and made a long traverse to the northwest and skied a mellow line to the head of the Copper Creek drainage. The next morning we had a quick 1-hour ski out along Copper Creek to Holden Village. We barely made the 10:45 am shuttle (note to self, there is only one shuttle until May) and soon found ourselves basking in the rain/sunshine on the beaches of Lake Chelan.
Side Note: For those who dont mind traveling for 3 1/2 days with flip-flops, we found that the public transit from Chelan to Leavenworth is very accommodating for skiers, even though the signs in the bus say no oversized luggage or hazardous materials.
The first 9 miles went without too many glitches. A couple of dry patches in the road caused us to take our skis off and a small brush fire in Alans machine delayed us for 5 minutes or so while it cooled back down. As soon as flames had settled and the smoke was gone, it started back up and we were off again. A mile or so later, we hit another dry patch and just as I said, Im so impressed with these machines, 1980s snowmobile #2 decided to die. We stood around the machine for 30 minutes, changed a couple spark plugs and realized there was no hope for our mechanically challenged minds. Alan and Ian hopped on the Moto Ski and we headed north for 10 painfully flat miles.
Our journey up the Chiwawa didnt start until 5 pm, so we were forced to camp along the road the first night, making for a long second day. We arrived at the Phelps Creek Trailhead late in the morning and skinned along the trail for a couple of miles before branching east up Chipmunk Creek. The drainage was completely filled in and travel was straightforward. Around 6000 feet (dont quote me) we turned north, traversing below steep terrain and cliff bands to a broad bench. From there we headed east, towards a prominent saddle. From the saddle, the guidebook suggested making a climbing traverse to gain the southwest shoulder of Maude. We, however, decided to climb to the top of a small knoll that lied just to the southeast of where we were standing, making for a nice fall line ski descent to camp.
The next morning we arrived at the summit of Maude via the south shoulder. We stood on top for a bit trying to decide on what to ski. High winds, a previously long day, and changing weather forced us back down the south shoulder. Skiing wasnt ideal, but it sure was nice to ski with light packs. We packed up camp and traversed to the upper Ice Lake. From the lake we climbed north to a saddle where we proceeded to ski down towards the Entiat River. We accidentally got sucked into mellow, rolling terrain that suddenly rolled out of sight and my comment, I think this doesnt go ended up being an understatement. We skinned back up 500 feet and skied a ramp that led us down the Entiat Glacier to the head of the drainage.
From the drainage we climbed northeast to another saddle in the Chelan Mountains. From this vantage point, the North Face of Maude looked filled in. The lower slopes had quite a bit of avalanche debris on them, but it was hard to tell how recent it was.
From the saddle we played it conservative (too tired to want to put skins back on) and made a long traverse to the northwest and skied a mellow line to the head of the Copper Creek drainage. The next morning we had a quick 1-hour ski out along Copper Creek to Holden Village. We barely made the 10:45 am shuttle (note to self, there is only one shuttle until May) and soon found ourselves basking in the rain/sunshine on the beaches of Lake Chelan.
Side Note: For those who dont mind traveling for 3 1/2 days with flip-flops, we found that the public transit from Chelan to Leavenworth is very accommodating for skiers, even though the signs in the bus say no oversized luggage or hazardous materials.
Great accomplishment Adrienne! When you spoke of your adventure at FF with Eddie and I, I was hoping you would write a trip report and share the adventure; thanks for that and congratulations!
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