ptarmigan traverse - alternate to "red ledge"?

[girlsgotoo]

Has anyone used the lower traverse route that bypasses the "red ledge" and steep tongue of snow leading to it? The trail is plainly visible leaving from Koolaid lk over to the next ridge.

[Alex]

I dont remember an obvious route going lower than the Ledge. When you get closer to Red Ledge you kind of realize you dont want to loose any elevation, the terrain is steep scree no matter how low you go. The snow leading to Red Ledge is perhaps 100 ft long, and Red Ledge proper is alot less scary/difficult/badass up close than you might expect reading all the stories. I just rifled through my shots of the Ptraverse last year and didnt see any good "proof" shots to post for you, so I guess thats all I can offer.

 

If you have crampons and an ice axe (as you should for this trip) you will have no problem whatsoever.

[girlsgotoo]

the trail is there, but you can only really see it from back by Cache col. Somebody must be using it...it seems to go up a fairly steep cut up onto the same ridge that the "ledge" enters, only a couple of hundred ft lower.

[John Frieh]

The snow getting to the red ledge isn't steep and further more the steps kicked have been kicked so many times you could bivy on some of them.

 

PM Terry McClain; he and I did the traverse 2 weekends ago... he should have a pic of it (he took many).

 

Can I ask why you are opting to avoid the red ledges?

[girlsgotoo]

If there is a safer, easier route, is there a problem with that? I was at the ledge approach...it has probably melted out some more in this hot weather since you were there. All i asked was if someone had been on the lower route. Obviously, you have not.

[John Frieh]

No problem; didn't mean to sound like I was belittling you (sorry if it sounded like that). I would say pm terry (or I can email him for you if you want) and check it out... its not that bad and definitely not the steepest snow of the traverse you will encounter.

[girlsgotoo]

It was actually my partner that didn't want to go further...guess he didn't want to take me out in pieces. I really thought that it looked okay, just a place you didn't want to sneeze. But, that lower traverse is there...it's not a game trail. Somebody out there uses it.

[philfort]

I also have no idea about the lower route (sorry), but if your partner was concerned about the red ledge, he should know it certainly isn't the crux of the route.

 

Red ledge in september (looks worse than it is):

 

Ok, so that doesn't help you. Last time I was in the area in June, I think I saw ski tracks going down lower than the red ledge. So yeah, someone should know.

[JoshK]

The red ledge was definiltey much easier than it looked from afar. I figured it was going to be serious scrambling from a distance but wasn't hard at all. If one person in the group is uncomfortable you could always belay them across, assuming you already have a rope for the glacier crossings.

[girlsgotoo]

While I appreciate all the info re the ledge...I would still like to know who might have used the lower route, and why...we might find out that it is actually tougher and not worht losing elevation over. By the way...what do most people think is the toughest part of the route?

[John Frieh]

Toughest or Dangerous? The only reason I ask is it seems your reason to avoid red ledges is the potential for injury is greater with the steeper snow (sorry if I am wrong in my conclusion).

[JoshK]

ggt, I think you may have trouble finding people who used the "lower" alternative since practically everybody just goes over the red ledge. I didn't even know there was an alternative. Well, I should say I didn't know there was a suggested alternative. If you dont like the way something looks you can always find another way.

[Alex]

I was on the Ptraverse twice last year: over July 4th and over Labor Day. I think the routes tough and dangerous spots change depending on when you go.

 

I think the most difficult, cruxy, part of the Ptraverse (other than some of the climbing routes you might do) in earlier season are some of the steep snow slopes on Mixup Arm, while in late season I think it is getting past the LeConte Glacier hands down. A close runner up in late season might be the steep decent from Spider-Formidible col (steep snow, bad runout zone!) I think the Middle Cascade Gl in late season should be climbed roped, though we didnt rope up for it over July 4th last year. There were a surprising number of large hidden crevasses on that glacier near the col last Labor Day. While not dangerous really, I think perhaps one of the most arduous parts of the entire trip is the decent from South Cascade Gl to White Rock Lakes. Thats one steep hill! Compared to all that stuff, the Red Ledge is easy.

[JoshK]

Alex, in early season we made the choice to drop into pelton basin then ascend directly to cache col. I think all and alll this was easier (maybe even faster?) than fucking around on mixup arm. Our choice was made somewhat for us by the deadly snow patches pissing down on mixup arm.

[Alex]

Yeah I can see that. Good advice. It sure seems like a great way to go, too, if you are doing the "Ptraverse in Reverse" and are coming down from Cache Col to Cascade Pass. I am pretty comfortable on steep snow, but my partners were not doing so well on Mixup Arm. In hind-sight I think its the steepest sidehilling of the entire route, in early season. Still, its a good taste of things to come.

[philfort]

When I did it in september, the most tedious (care required) parts were all the sidehilling on bare ice approaching the Leconte glacier, and a short section of 50 degree dirt on Mixup Arm (probably there was a better way). Descending the Spider-Formidable col is probably the steepest snow on route.

I think you could ride a bike across the red ledge

And I don't recall the snow getting there to be very steep, and we could walk behind it in the (shallow) moat.

[ski_photomatt]

I've done the Ptarmigan three times - twice in September when Red Ledge is a sidewalk, and once this last June when it was partially snow covered. It was hot, the snow was soft, and we weren't certain at all about the snow conditions on the ledge. It looked like it was possibly moated out and/or involved a few tricky transitions between snow and rock, so we bypassed it via the steep snow gully and some scrambling on climber's right. It turned out to be pretty sucky, but went just fine. Given the choice again, I'm not sure if we would go the same way; surely this time of year Red Ledge is the easiest route.

[girlsgotoo]

it's nice to know that you can stand in the moat to take off crampons before climbing onto the ledge. And I thought that the 50 degree dirt on Mix-up arm (with the overhanging boulder) was tough on the way down, ok going up. I do appreciate the comments on sections of the route.