Jump to content

[TR] Liberty Cap - Ptarmigan Ridge C2C 07/11/2020


bedellympian

Recommended Posts

Trip: Liberty Cap - Ptarmigan Ridge C2C

Trip Date: 07/11/2020

Trip Report:

 

Kyle Tarry @ktarry and I climbed Ptarmigan Ridge round trip from Whitewater Campground July 11/12. We originally planned to climb it 12/13 with a bivy at the standard location, but increasing winds and cloud forecast for Saturday night convinced us to just do it in a push starting the evening of the 11th. I think we benefitted in our late season climb from the conditions resulting from this more cloudy and cold summer.

 

We drove up after Kyle got off work and left the car at 8:30pm, did the St. Elmos-Winthrop-Curtis-Carbon approach in the dark and arrived at the start of the route at dawn (water drip on the Curtis and brew stop near the normal bivy spot). The route was in thin conditions compared to other pictures I've seen but the glacier crossings were pretty easy and direct. We climbed a small (20m) ice/mixed step that was pretty gross to cross the schrund, a little L of the typical start, which saved some elevation loss. Firm and sun-cupped/rock-smashed snow made for relatively easy movement above this. There was some low angle ice that took good screws starting the ramp towards the rock step variation, but even this did not require much sustained front-pointing. The rock step seemed longer/steeper due to the low snow there (again compared to other pictures I've seen, and based on the fact that I was past the crux when the fixed pin appeared). We topped Liberty Cap and descended the Emmons (good condition for this time of year, I hear). Visibility dropped significantly as we reached Camp Schurman and it even snowed a bit as we descended the Interglacier. We were back at the car by 7:10pm on Saturday and slept about as well as you would think.

Pros of the single push strategy: cool/dark glacier approaches, day packs don't weigh much, we nailed the weather window

Cons: we were pretty tired (cons win)

Gear Notes:
one picket (not used), 3 screws (used a few places), 4 nuts (not used), 1 knife blade (used on rock step), 30 m half rope

Approach Notes:
standard White River approach to N Side routes

Edited by bedellympian
  • Like 2
  • Snaffled 1
  • Rawk on! 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Warning: Kyle took a lot of these and I was being a goof

Leaving the car

IMG_6253.thumb.jpg.d99df55f6679414b6a8347616b8e4533.jpg

Switching to boots at the snow line above Glacier Basin

IMG_6256.thumb.jpg.93faeb9915033c089a3387f5d1d1d482.jpg

Coming up from Carbon

IMG_0706.thumb.jpg.4e0481b5f11a40241dea479aba3e9ac3.jpg

Bivy sites on P Ridge

IMG_6266.thumb.jpg.6faab485f56afef9c1fac2dd3b7b13a8.jpg

Route pictures pre/post sun, note moon which helped with night nav

IMG_0704.thumb.jpg.04b1e814ae4094b778e050fc801977d0.jpg

IMG_0707.thumb.jpg.bed0c74e0bf1d673f44c9681e1f17c76.jpg

Schrund pitch L of regular start involved loose conglomerate that was verglassed and frozen just enough

IMG_6271.thumb.jpg.301704fcc4933c16edcd585a8ee8a01c.jpg

Coming up lower snow section

IMG_6276.thumb.jpg.348c36e845e15092cb0b80356ae8976c.jpgIMG_0718.thumb.jpg.ab3f320c5c7d7b2b479e3c73607763c7.jpg

Icey ramp leading to rock step

IMG_6280.thumb.jpg.63fe76d0f3ce5d75c9826baf23778d06.jpgIMG_0720.thumb.jpg.98e415a5231ac665703eae63d3944787.jpg

rock step

IMG_6283.thumb.jpg.0522de77e426dceba2c2ed7e36865456.jpg

Kyle suffering on the upper slog

IMG_0726.thumb.jpg.32d114e5752692a3b35bbac125ba50d2.jpg

I think I was eating a bar but the silhouette is funny

IMG_6285.thumb.jpg.7c634ba92a878c5e12438db0dac74ae3.jpg

Sundog

IMG_0730.thumb.jpg.0c33307b380e46db2ff5e1eb513239ab.jpg

Not many pics of the descent, didn't stop on Lib Cap, just kept going

Edited by bedellympian
  • Like 1
  • Rawk on! 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...