fleblebleb Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 Hey... I've been trying to piece together the original itinerary of the Ptarmigan Traverse by Bressler et al. Beckey's green book has been my best source. It has a description of the Traverse in the approaches section and also mentions the Ptarmigans in the sections for each (?) of the peaks that were climbed. I've seen the Traverse mentioned in several other books but little detail. Here's what I've got so far: July 21 1938: Dome Peak Traverse 23 : Sentinal and Le Conte 25 : Magic, Spider and Formidable 26 : Johannesburg 28 : Sahale, Buckner by the North Face I'm guessing they started out on July 20 and headed back on the 29th, making it a 10 day trip? Am I missing any peaks? Did they summit Boston or settle for traversing the flanks on their way to Buckner? What were their campsites? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 If your interested in the orginal account you can look it up a the Mountaineers library, but I think you are correct on the peaks. I believe the orginal plan was to include Sahle and Forbidden in the loop. Those guys did Magic, Spider, and Formidable on the same day! Took me three tries to do the traverse because of weather. It's a great route but becomming a bit to popular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowell_Skoog Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 The article you want is "Ptarmigans and Their Ptrips" by Harvey Manning in the 1958 Mountaineer. My ski history project has a review of it, but not the details you're looking for: http://alpenglow.org/ski-history/notes/period/mtneer-a/mtneer-a-1950-59.html#mtneer-a-1958-p48 Since I have a copy of the article in my files, here's a summary: Day 1: From Seattle to a camp in Sulphur Creek valley. Day 2: Climbed to shoulder below SW peak of Dome Pk. Day 3: Traversed both peaks of Dome, walked to Spire Point and climbed it, returned to camp. Day 4: Moved camp to head of South Cascade Glacier. Day 5: Climbed Sentinel, Old Guard and Le Conte, moved camp to Yang Yang lakes. Day 6: Rest day. Day 7: Climbed Formidable, Spider and Magic, probably camped at Koolaid Lake. Day 8: Traversed to Cascade Pass, climbed Johannesburg, bivied on descent. Day 9: Returned to camp and rested. Day 10: Climbed Sahale, Boston and north face of Buckner. Day 11: Hiked down Stehekin River to Bridge Creek. Day 12: Hiked up Agnes Creek toward Suiattle Pass. Day 13: Hiked over Suiattle Pass and out Suiattle River back to Sulpur Creek. Their dream trip had also included Logan and Goode but they gave it up since "there were not enough tricounis among us to equip one safe climbing boot," plus they were out of food. I've spoken to Ray Clough (he lives in Sunriver, OR) and he was fresh out of high school when he did this trip. He graduated from Roosevelt High in 1938 and grew up just a few blocks from where I live in Seattle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelly Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 Man, those guys were strong! Were any of those ascents a first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Caveman Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 Uh yeah. Proves how weak we are with all our techy gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 Did they have Koolaid in the 1930's or was that lake named later? We should name some lake Gu Lake to keep up with the changing times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleblebleb Posted July 2, 2002 Author Share Posted July 2, 2002 Amazing - 13 days! Thanks Lowell. So they started on July 19th and finished on July 31st, and I also missed two peaks - Old Guard and Spire Point. Ehrm, what's a tricouni? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowell_Skoog Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 A tricouni is a boot nail. They made the first ascents of LeConte, Spider, Formidable, Magic, Johannesburg, Boston, and the N face of Buckner. The Dome summit traverse was also a first. It would be a great tribute to the Ptarmigans to retrace their itinerary exactly. I bet it has never been done. If you enjoy Cascade history you really owe it to yourself to read Harvey Manning's article. It's a classic. [ 07-02-2002, 10:21 PM: Message edited by: Lowell Skoog ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtnnut Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 Yep, Kool-Aid showed up in 1927. more than you'd ever want to know about Kool-Aid Folks years from now will likely have never heard of Gu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisa Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 Damn, I wonder what they climbed to train...Denali. I am truely impressed and amazed. When I did the traverse in '98, I thought it was quite and accomplishment just do complete it including Sahale at the start. After reading about this epic trip, I feel like I simply did a backpacking traverse. I guess it's time to go back and do some climbing. May history continue to rouse humility from beneath our pride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleblebleb Posted July 9, 2002 Author Share Posted July 9, 2002 Nelson/Potterfield say that the exact itinerary has never been repeated, can't remember which of the two books. I'd like to read the Harvey Manning article after seeing your review - where can I find The Mountaineer 1958? Mountaineers clubhouse? Won't they be mean to me for posting on this bboard? [ 07-09-2002, 04:49 PM: Message edited by: fleblebleb ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowell_Skoog Posted July 10, 2002 Share Posted July 10, 2002 Yup, you gotta go to the Mountaineers library. The annuals are in a locked cabinet, since there's only one set. The library volunteer will open them for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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