Fletcher: South Face (13951 ft), West Peak (13800 ft), and Northwest Face

Fletcher, just west of Quandary, offers many excellent ski routes. The most obvious is the south face from the summit, but when Jonathan Kriegel and I went for it on May 25, 2005, from the Quandary TH, we found that the snow on the final face was not continuous. So instead we went for a prominent snow peak (West Fletcher, 13800 feet) on the west ridge, about halfway between Fletcher and Drift. This offered a fine ski descent, and the subsequent drop to the Quandary-Fletcher valley was also very good. This tour provided super views of the peaks surrounding the Monte Cristo valley, and also of Pacific, Atlantic, and Mayflower Gulch.

On June 4, 2009, Elke Dratch, Jonathan Kriegel, I headed up the valley on a beautiful morning thinking we’d try Jews for Jesus, but there were lots of avalanches in the slopes of the valley. So we continued upvalley and climbed and skied the face that descends just west of West Fletcher. Could call this “Virgin Mary” since it is the source of Cristo. We returned by crossing under Fletcher so as to make a loop in the opposite direction to the way I have usually done this.

On May 28, 2013, I finally got to Fletcher’s summit with skis, accompanied by Elke and Starr Jamison. Ski crampons were useful on ascent. For the descent, the rock band got in the way so we avoided it. Back below the face we did a second lap up to West Fletcher, which provided perfect corn. And the descent in the lower valley near Quandary was superb.

And then there is the very prominent line on the other side, the northwest side. On May 26, 2019, Randy Garrison and I climbed and skied this beautiful line above Mayflower Gulch. There was a skin track that we kept to, but it was strenuous as it involved 52 switchbacks. Ski crampons were helpful. The col at the top is a superb spot with great views to the south and southwest. Relatively recent snow made for fine conditions on descent. Total climb was 2650 feet with the ski run being 1800 feet. Google Earth tells me the upper thousand feet are at a 26-degree angle. I have to say that descending this gully in the summer is no fun. Katie Larson and I did it after a traverse of the Mayflower needles.