Mt Maude December 23, 2004
4:20am - evil transportation machine begins moving from the sno-park, carrying Dave and Phil. The snowpack is only a few inches deep, but enough to completely cover the summer road, which was groomed a week ago.
5:15am - evil machine turns up Phelps creek road, suprised to find that it has been groomed too.
5:25am - evil machine is turned off after 23 miles of transporation, and Dave and Phil gear up and don skis for the flat 3.5 miles along Phelps creek trail.
7:00am - Phil and Dave reach the turn-off to Leroy Basin, and now leave the skis and don snowshoes (the horrors!)
7:05am - Phil is impressed with the efficiency and lightweight of snowshoes in these snow conditions (unsupportable crust)
8:11am - The first view of Maude is had, as the terrain opens up near Leroy Basin.
9:30am - the upper reaches of Leroy Basin are attained. Here the travel is slow, through suprisingly deep, often powdery snow. Phil lags behind, low on energy, while Dave does most of the trail-breaking. In times of low motivation, it is often useful to watch a motivational video.
10:30am - after a short break to remove snowshoes and don crampons, Phil and Dave head up the fan below the center couloir on the west face. A worrisome windslab is encountered, but circumvented on icy slopes above, which fortunately continue in the couloir.
11:00am - With the help of GU, Phil picks up the pace in the icy couloir and manages to stay ahead of Dave until halfway up. Conditions here are firm and icy - slightly tedious but safe from avalanches.
11:45am - The couloir broadens, and the snow becomes a mixture of hard ice, or thin crust on knee-deep sugar.
12:05pm - Phil climbs a ridge and to continue to the summit, drops off onto a slightly worrisome lee slope with fresh snow that is receiving warm sun and is above cliffs. It stays put.
12:25pm - The flattish summit area is reached, and a discussion is had as to where the exact summit is.
12:38pm - It turns out to be to the right, and Dave and Phil walk up to it on rocks scoured free from snow by the wind.
12:45pm - On a bench 50 feet below the summit, they get out of the wind and rest. A decision is made to descend via the standard south route, instead of downclimbing the couloir.
1:10pm - Phil and Dave head down the gentle south slope, which is mostly free of snow. Strange tracks are encountered on the south slope. They look like human footprints from afar, but turn out to have a round imprint. A bear or cat?
1:30pm - Phil and Dave enter the western bowl below the south ridge - conditions are crusty with some sugar snow underneath, and progress is quick
2:00pm - The cliff band at the bottom of the bowl is circumvented by a traverse to the north on sloppy slopes receiving full sun.
2:30pm - The uphill snowshoe track from the morning is intersected, and Phil and Dave switch to snowshoes.
2:50pm - Several sections of nice deep dry powder are encountered. There is no regret not bringing skis, because these are interspersed every 50 feet by crusty melt crusts on top of the powder.
3:45pm - The Phelps creek trail is reached, and the switch is made to skis - snowshoes go back on the back.
5:15pm - Dave reaches the evil transportation machine, which starts without complaining.
5:25pm - Phil arrives a little later.
5:38pm - The evil machine leaves the area with Phil and Dave mounted on its back.
6:05pm - Another person with an evil machine is encountered on the trail, stopped in the opposite direction. He responds that he is ok, just "waiting for my wolf". Phil and Dave spot neither wolf, nor dog, nor other sledder on the way back.
6:45pm - Summer trailhead is reached, and Dave tries valiantly to drive the evil transportation machine onto the trailer, but is thwarted by black ice on the road.
7:15pm - food at 59'er Diner. Shrunken stomachs and exhaustion diminish the euphoria.