Ptarmigan Traverse in 2 days?

[klenke]

Looks like we're both wrong, Josh. According to this website (http://www.vermont-st.com/pct/overview.html ), it is 70 miles from Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass. I guess my memory from two summers ago escaped me.

[Tod]

This is really pretty funny to read considering the consequences of stating that the if the only way to complete the Ptarmigan Traverse is by following the same route and climbing the same peaks as the original route. If that is the case then really only a small fraction (if any) of the people who have done the Ptarmigan Traverse have actually done it. I don't buy that.... If that's the case then there ought to be signs at either end stating "You think you just did the Ptarmigan Traverse, but you really didn't". I wonder how long that would last.

 

A traverse is from point A to point B. A climb is from bottom to top, and then you eventually have to come down. If you traverse the Pickets, you aren't required to climb any peaks to complete it (though you probably will have to). If you traverse Rainier people will ask, where did you start and where did you end. If you climb something you may have to traverse over to the route.

 

The traverse from Cascade Pass to Dome Peak is commonly known as the Ptarmigan Traverse. There are many wonderful climbs along the traverse however you don't have to do any of them to get from one end to the other or simply stated, to complete the Ptarmigan Traverse.

 

As far as speed goes, someone who does 30 miles in one day vs. someone who does 10 miles will generally see a lot more of the surrounding country than the 10 mile person, about 20 miles more. There are plenty of people that don't look at anything but their feet while hiking, regardless of whether they are doing 10 miles in a day or 20. You generally don't hike any faster when you do a 30 mile day, you just end up hiking a longer more consistent day.

[Cpt.Caveman]

If a route is created and named then it is a route. If you want to climb a variation of it then it is just a variation. No big deal and I don't see the definitions issue claimed. It's not really the South Face of Prusik if you climb the west ridge now is it?

[erik]

if you climbed the route, but didnt summit, is that climbing the route??

 

[Cpt.Caveman]

It is an incomplete route. But a route.

 

But I would never claim the Ptarmigan Traverse complete unless I did the same deal as the first guys. Otherwise it is just a portion or variation.

[Dru]

the only way to complete the Ptarmigan Traverse is by following the same route and climbing the same peaks as the original route. If that is the case then really only a small fraction (if any) of the people who have done the Ptarmigan Traverse have actually done it.

 

Tod you state it well. Why get upset that you haven't "done" the traverse? You are right, few people have. Would you say youd climbed everest if youd been to basecamp?

[Off_White]

I think this came up in a thread awhile ago, and the conclusion was that perhaps no one has repeated the exact itinerary. They had some monster days in there, and didn't they do Johannesberg as part of the package? No maps either I think.

[plexus]

So in conclusion we have come to two definitives:

1) Ptarmigans = hardasses

2) We are all gapers

 

 

[Lowell_Skoog]

Traditionally, "Ptarmigan Traverse" refers to the route between Cascade Pass and Dome Peak.

Doing the traverse does not require climbing any of the peaks. Some purists (e.g. Harvey Manning) feel

that Dome is a key part of the trip and that unless you climb Dome you haven't really done The Traverse.

But most people call it good if they make it to Spire Point and hike out from there, skipping Dome. I believe

all the one-day parties have done it that way. I don't think anyone has ever repeated the itinerary of the

original Ptarmigans in its entirely.

 

For a two-day traverse, you should bivi somewhere between Yang Yang Lakes and White Rock Lakes.

My one-day ski traverse in 1988 is summarized here:

 

http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/notes/ms/lds-journal.html#lds-journal-p462

 

I think doing it on foot in late summer might be quicker since you'd be traveling lighter. The appeal of

skiing a long day trip like this is the feeling of flow.

 

But by all means, don't limit yourself to one style of trip. I've done the Ptarmigan four times--three times

on skis, once on foot--with times varying from 21 hours to seven days. On the week-long trip we climbed

ten peaks. On the day trip we climbed none. But they were both wonderful trips.

 

[obsydian]

klenke, is snoqualmie->stevens really only 30 miles? I was under the impression it was more along the lines of 50.

over 70 miles on the PCT