Snowshoe Hike – Fletcher via Drift Peak, Attempt

Sunrising on Fletcher
I met Doug at 5pm and we drove to the Mammoth Ride Share Lot to pick up Bill. Bill works part time on Ski Patrol, so he’s a good guy to have on a winter adventure. Our objective was to climb the centennial Fletcher Mountain (13,951) via Drift Peak. Bill was on AT skis and Doug and I were snowshoeing it.

Mayflower Creek Trail

Unfortunately, we greatly underestimated the traffic on the slopes. We figured there would be a trail packed down all the way to the ridge, from the Mayflower Creek trail head. When we got to the trailhead, there was evidence the trail would be as we suspected, so we decided to leave the snowshoes in the car. It was nice hiking with lighter packs!

Thanks to Doug for supplying pictures, I forgot my camera…so all these are from Doug!

Bill and Clare Advancing Up Mayflower Creek Road

Doug is in phenomenal shape, so he bounded down the Mayflower Creek road. Every now and then, he’d stop and let Bill and I catch up. I tried to keep my pace steady, but I was definitely feeling all the Ultimate training I had been doing lately!

When we reached the end of the road, at the Boston Mine and Cabin, the nicely packed trail disappeared. We were staring at the steep slopes leading up to the ridge. We had no choice but to go for it, sans snowshoes! Bill charged ahead on his skis and we followed in his tracks.

It was grueling work. We sank into the snow, up to our thighs. Eventually, we assumed the “seal” position. Which is to kneel on your knees, and hold the trekking poles out flat on the slope. In this position, one spreads the weight out across a large area, so one doesn’t sink in as much. Then, you pull up on your poles and scootch your legs forward. It is very taxing on shoulders and abdominals.

We worked our way up the slope, probably around 400 vertical feet and maybe a quarter mile. We got to a rocky outcropping and we needed to traverse to a steeper slope. Doug bravely stepped forward across diagonally. As he made his way, we kept quiet listening for threatening sounds. All of a sudden, the slab beneath Doug shifted. We heard a whoomping sound. He stopped in his tracks. We consulted with our SME, Bill, and decided it was too risky.

Tracks in the Snow
The tracks we made on the slopes of Drift Peak

Doug and I were very frustrated to turn around and also in our decision to leave the snowshoes behind. But we took solace in the fact that we acted with our best safety in mind and that the mountains will always be there for attempt number 2.

Clare Wading Through Snow on Slopes of Drift Peak
Cool picture of me descending the slopes of Drift Peak

Fletcher via Drift Topo
The route we attempted is the one in blue. In hindsight, it would have been much safer to do the Red route. Also, probably a lot less physically challenging, as you climb up to the ridge immediately, and then you walk on the ridge crest for most of the route.

After our ordeal, we drove down the road and found the trail head for the ridge route (the one in Red, above). There was a nice pullout to park the car, and it seems just as popular as the Mayflower Creek area.

On the way back to Denver, I realized that Dennis was probably done with Snowboarding and heading home. So, I gave him a call and we all met in Frisco for brewskies and snacks at Backcountry Brewery. Dennis had a great day snowboarding, so at least somebody at the table was in a cheerful mood!

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