NaH (1.3 g, 60% dispersion in mineral oil, 0.033 mol) and tetrahydrofuran (223 mL) were mixed in a 1-necked flask and cooled to 0° C. To this was added dropwise a mixture of 3-ethyl-N-methoxy-N-methyl-1H-indazole-6-carboxamide (2.6 g, 0.011 mol) in tetrahydrofuran (60 mL), and the mixture was stirred at 0° C. for 1 hour. [β-(Trimethylsilyl)ethoxy]methyl chloride (2.4 mL, 0.013 mol) was then added and the reaction mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature. The resulting mixture was partitioned between water (50 mL) and ethyl acetate (50 mL). The layers were separated and the organics were washed with brine (25 mL), dried (sodium sulfate) and concentrated in vacuo to afford 4.0 g (quantitative yield) of 3-ethyl-N-methoxy-N-methyl-2-{[2-(trimethylsilyl)ethoxy]methyl}-2H-indazole-6-carboxamide, which was used without further purification.
