Terry_McClain Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Climb: Ptarmigan Traverse-7 summits tagged Date of Climb: 7/22/2004 Trip Report: Ptarmigan Traverse - best way I can think to spend 4 days. Day 1 Cascade River TH to Yang Yang (climbed Formidable) 13hrs Day 2 Yang-Yang to White Rocks(climbed Old Guard& Sentinal) 8hrs Day 3 White Rocks to Bachelor Creek camp below slide path. Climbed Dome, Flat Top, Over Drive Tower, & Dynaflow Tower 14hrs. Day 4 to car in under 5 hrs. Nolse and I had our trip go like clock work and if I had to do it all over, it would stay the same. We packed for fast and light with 40-45# packs for this trip. We stayed busy, but I am sure we set no speed records and I don't think either of us felt it was a rushed trip. Most days we were into camp somewhere between 2pm and 4pm. We car camped at end of Cascade River Rd/trail head after dropping our other vehicle at Downey Creek. We made alpine starts every day to beat the heat and maximize climbing time. This worked really well for us with 3-4am wake up calls, and on the trail between 4am-5am. This also allowed for plenty of light still left in the day as we pulled into the next camp. Day 1 Starting at 3:30AM the first morning, we bypassed Magic and Mixup, stpped at Kool Aid with a quick water fill up, and over the Formidable/Spider Col to the start of the Formidable climb. Formidable - Spider Col We droped packs at the ridge before the drop down to Yang Yang, we did the std. south side of Forbidden which was a fun scramble, albeit a bit loose. We picked up packs on way back and descended to Yang-Yang Lakes where mosquitos were very hungry. Yang Yang Lakes Day 2 We skipped Le Conte, dropped packs at the Sentinal/Le Conte Col and headed up Old Guard, which both of us thought was a great scramble with some of the best views. Back down to the packs, and traverse to the West side of Sentinal where we dropped packs again. We started out on Sentinal's std southwest route, but instead of taking the ramp to the left went straight up into some loose exposed 4th class that I did not relish the thought of downclimbing. Nolse being from Oregon had no idea why I was complaining. Fortunately we were able to figure out our folly and traversed back to the 3rd class to gain summit and descend. Sentinal feels much bigger than Old Guard did and we were happy to have tagged the top. A quick traverse to Spider Col and down to White Rocks Camp. Left Dana Glacier from White Rocks Lake Day 3 Waking up early again, we descended the 400' and traversed to the Dana. Here is where we elected to bypass Sentinal and go up the left part of the Dana Glacier. I Highly Recommend this. Route up the Left Dana in Red Almost to the Dana Glacier with Wihite Rocks, Sentinal, and Old Guard in background This approach was very straightforward and saved us several hours by not having to drop down to Itswoot and reascend to the Dome Glacier. With high freeze levels and lots of snow we managed to avoid crampons till the Dana Glacier where we had to cross some low angle ice. We crested the Dana/Dome Col on the edge of the Dome Glacier, stashed packs and headed for Dome. Sitting on Dome's summit at 10am ish had us figuring what we were going to do next. Nolse tackling last of snow before Dome summit Nolse had already climbed Snow Dome, so we tagged Flat Top from the East side. This had some steep snow and a dicey schrund to get around, then one small pitch of rock at the top. We wasted no time, running down the glacier to get to the next peak, which was Overdrive Tower. Some 4th class running belays had us to the top on some fun granite blocks. We downclimbed, and ran down to Dynaflow Tower. Here we went up some 4th class to pick up the left ridge (SouthWest?) with a short stretch of mid 5th class, then along the ridge to a very airy summit. This summit was like the iceing on the cake and our 4th for the day. We rapped down from there to the easy third class scree on one rap and headed back to the packs feeling pretty satisfied with our day. The descent to Itswoot went fast with a lot of snow to glissade and plunge step down. Last look at Dome as we come into Itswoot Ridge Camp We traversed following cairns and were at Itswoot camp by 4pm, headed down to Cub Lake, up to Hidden Valley, and then the top of the slide debris at the head of Bachelor Creek. Here we traversed left into the timber and easily descended the steep forest till we picked up the trail again. About 20 minutes down the trail and we hit a real nice campsite next to the creek. This made for our longest day at 14hrs, but also helped make for a short day out the following. The bridge washout wooden ladder is solid and easy - no worries if anyone is. The distance from Downey T.head to the cars on the road can't be more than 1/4 of a mile. Cold cokes previously stashed in a creek down the road were much appreciated. We picked up the other vehicle from Cascade River Rd. T.H. and were sucking down Espresso Shakes by 1pm at Good Food- what rewards! Gear Notes: never used the two pickets or third tool we brought. carried a 60 meter 1/2 rope and small rack. My hike boots with Stubai aluminum crampons were perfect for trip. Approach Notes: see above Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairweather Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Nice pictures Terry! Absolutely fantastic. Great trip. You are a freaking machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshK Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 What an awesome trip, I love the traverse. Just curious...how is 40-45 lbs fast n' light? I must have my pack weight scale off, but that seems like an awful lot of weight, even with 4-5 days of food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Great report Terry - we plan a very similar route/peaks starting this coming Sunday-Thursday. A couple of questions: 1. We are only planning scramble routes, so not taking any rock pro. Thinking about trying to get by with either a 20M or 30M rope. Do you see a major reason this won't fly? (we realize the risk on the glaciers, but are willing to accept that) 2. Cell phone for emergencies - anyone know if there's reception on the higher peaks or don't bother? JoshK - scaled pretty thin on gear, my packs weighing in at just over 40 lbs..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_McClain Posted July 28, 2004 Author Share Posted July 28, 2004 To JoshK, we packed for 5 days so we did have more fuel and food weight, otherwise I would have been challenged to pair it down past that for this trip. 3rd tool was a waste as well. I liked the fact that we had a tent to escape the bugs. One picket could have been acceptible as well. We mostly carried 1 liter of water, trusted the water up high, but brought filter for water down low. Russ, If you stay on route with the scramble peaks, a 30M would work fine. I did not bring cel phone and seriously doubt you would get any reception. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
To_The_Top Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Terry, great TR! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swaterfall Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Niiiiice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreezyD Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Sweet! Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Frieh Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Nolse being from Oregon had no idea why I was complaining. Just call me the choss connoisseur... Nice TR Terry... a few additions: - We took a 70 m strand (not 60 m). - Two flat tires are not better than one. I will post my photos once I get them scanned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ski_photomatt Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 FYI: I have a few friends who were planning the Ptarmigan this week but changed plans because of a fire in Downey Creek. Checking the forest web site, sure enough Downey Creek trail is closed: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/fire/index.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Thanks for the heads up on Downey Creek. I'll do some research later, but can anyone tell me other options on finishing the traverse to avoid that area? TIA - Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ski_photomatt Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 (edited) I believe the old schoolers used Suphur Creek. The valley isn't that long and there is a trail for a few miles, but there would still be a couple miles of what I'd imagine would be pretty dense brush. You could schwack out Agnes Creek to the trail. I believe there is a trail into the research station above the S. Cascade Glacier, but that's only 1/2 - 2/3 of the way along the traverse and skips the best part, the cirque from White Rock Lakes over to Dome. You might be able to put together a high route from the S. Cascade Glacier over towards Buckindy and Green Mountain. There was a ski route pioneered from the Chickamin to Lyman Lake that might also be feasible on foot. Any way other than Downey Creek would probably add some time to trip. Edited July 28, 2004 by ski_photomatt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshK Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 I guess that would explain it...we used 1lb sleeping bags and a 10oz tarp for shelter. We did it on skis, so no problem with bugs. I think we were quite light due to these sacrifices...one of them almost caught us...we had to deal with rain for nearly a day and a half under that tarp. not pleasent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Good times! I would agree that this is one of the best ways to spend 4 summer days in the Pacific Northwest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_McClain Posted July 28, 2004 Author Share Posted July 28, 2004 Joshk, Yep, you make the good point that Light and Fast is all relative. We were pretty happy with the trade off's in weight and comfort. I won't tell you I took a deluxe thermarest because then you will give me shit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-o Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 What's the condition on the Red Ledge? Any moat issues? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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