Barbara and I headed to the North Cascades for a chicks-only climbing adventure last weekend. Our objective was the North Face of Mt. Maude, approaching from the east, past Ice Lakes.
At 9 am Saturday we departed Phelps Creek trail head, picking up Leroy Creek trail after an uneventful water crossing (according to a ranger, the water can run high this time of year). We made our way up the steep climbers trail, emerging ~6200’ into an obliterated meadow near Leroy Creek Basin, now choked with toppled trees and debris. After picking our way around for a bit, we rediscovered the trail and continued south.
At 2:30 pm we set up camp in a basin west of the saddle on the south ridge of Maude—the gateway to Ice Lakes. We realized later that the unappealing-looking scree and talus slope up to this saddle was actually the most direct access to Ice Lakes. (We had opted for a snow ramp through a small notch farther south, which lengthened the approach.)
Even with an alpine start Sunday morning the snow was fairly soft, though a crampon-friendly crust gave us good footing. We hiked up and over the south ridge and contoured the basin above upper Ice Lake, moving alternately over snow, rock, and heather benches. A scramble through the col east of Maude brought us to the Entiat Glacier and a sweeping view of Seven Fingered Jack and the Entiat River valley below.
We traversed beneath the Entiat Icefall, winking at us with its blue ice eyes (a future climb for sure), and on to the base of the North Face route. A seemingly impassable bergshrund gaped before us. We scouted the area from various vantage points, finally deciding on a sporty belayed step across a sketchy snow bridge to a rock face. I was glad to give Barbara the first lead, especially after the snow bridge gave way under me as I followed.
The North Face route was in late-season form—plenty of chossy, wet rock along with steep, soft snow to spice it up. What little pro we placed was largely mental. Midway up the route we moved left, negotiating various rock bands, a narrow snow chute (which kept us out of the fall line of the “death cornice”), and finally the broad, upper snow slope. We scrambled the final stretch, summiting at 4:30 pm.
After a much-appreciated break and some of Barbara’s trademark chocolate, we descended via the snow-covered shoulder of the south ridge, broke camp, and headed out. We arrived back at the car after midnight—a long but successful day. (Incidentally, we never saw another soul on Maude all weekend, though a summit register indicated some scramblers had passed through.)
Gear: 4 pickets, cams # .75 & 1, nuts (not used), 2 screws (not used), 2nd tool (used very little); in hindsight, we could have used some pitons
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Barbara ascending the snow chute along the left side of the North Face.
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You can see more photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/39627412@N00/sets/72157620655366313/
Anita Cech