ptarmigan solo

[meganerd]

Given good conditions and general mountaineering experience and good judgement, how reasonable would it be to to the Ptarmigan this time of year by myself? In other words, are the glaciers broken up at all? I am talking about the standard route starting at Cascade Pass and making my way out Downey Creek. I was thinking of five days, reasonably relaxed because I doubt I'll be able to get up many peaks considering my soloness. I'd like to hear some opinions on this. Just for a little pretext, I'm fairly cautious about glaciers, but not a paranoid mountie. Stuff like Sahale, Ruth, and Spider Glaciers by myself have not been nerve racking at all.

 

On that note though, is there anyone out there who would like to do the traverse over five days August 18 through 22? My idea is to treat this more like a hiking trip than a climbing one, but, if with someone, would like to tag at least one of the peaks around the S Cascade Glaicer (LeConte, Old Guard, Sentinel) and Dome Peak.

[Jason_Martin]

The glaciers are not very sketch at all... They are similar to those you named that you've already soloed. You'll probably be fine... If you don't plan on climbing, you might consider doing it a bit faster than five days.

 

Jason

[JoshK]

In the interest of safety first, I would have to say that while the glaciers pn the ptarmigan traverse aren't very sketch, they *are* a hellavu lot more active (and broken) to the ruth, sahale and spider. Those three are about as tame as you can get, and compared to them the portions of the middle cascade and LeConte glaciers you have to cross are more challanging. I'm not at all saying it would be a bad idea to try, but if you are expecting them to be as benign as the sahale, spider and ruth I dont think they are. My 2 cents.

[mtnnut]

I won't disagree with JoshK. The route isn't without crevasses. If you can avoid doing something thoughtless along the way it is feasible to go alone, however. You may choose to wander a bit more to give the crevassed areas a greater berth if you have doubts. This of course pre-supposes that you have enough experience to make those decisions and read the terrain.

 

The area where you will be in the greatest proximity to crevasses is the low point where you go below LeConte to get on the LeConte Glacier on your way up to Sentinel. This part is not really practical to avoid entirely, so you might even have to step over something here. Next would probably be the Middle Cascade Glacier, though you can avoid much of it by climbing up high on the left (when going North to South) and then coming into the Spider/Formidable col from a contour. One other spot is getting onto the Dana Glacier on your way to Spire Point, though that might be more icy than crevassed at that point. Most of the rest is pretty benign.

 

Depending on your comfort level, most of the peaks have scramble routes (class 3-4) up them, but the rock can be loose. Spire Point is a little more exposed than the other major summits along the way, so you might not be inclined without a rope on that one, even though it is only low-mid 5th class.

 

Whether you climb or not, there is plenty of sightseeing to do on the way, so that could keep you busy enough if you decide to forgo summits. If you want to snag Dome along the way, it is a bit of distance over there so the not-too-rushed format gives you greater odds of being able to fit that into the schedule.

[ski_photomatt]

As Josh and Mtnnut already pointed out, the glaciers are considerably more broken than the Ruth, Sahale gl, ect.. I did the traverse September 5-11, 2001 and saw the glaciers when they are perhaps most broken. The entry to the LeConte Glacier involved crossing a narrow bridge, a steep traverse for a few feet then a couple foot vertical step all exposed to a sizable crevasse (we belayed this in one short pitch using pickets for the anchors.. they were useless to protect the traverse though, what I wouldn't have given for an ice screw). Exiting the Dana glacier to the col near spire point required walking across a series of narrow snow bridges (narrow in width, not depth) through a crevasse field, not difficult, but required care even with a rope. It all depends on how comfortable you feel walking unroped on crevassed glaciers.

 

If you are looking for a multi day solo experience, there are plenty of other high routes in the Cascades with less glacier travel.