Some words about the Ptarmigan Traverse

Ken Roberts

Steve, Dave, and I did the route from Cascade Pass to the Suiattle River Road in July 1999 -- a big snow year.  We had a great time, saw some fine scenery, even got to do a couple of decent ski runs.  We took a somewhat leisurely pace, and had good luck with the weather -- after postponing for a month.

At least since Steve Barnett's book, the Ptarmigan Traverse has attained some renown as a ski route.  So here's some thoughts for backcountry skiers planning to do it as a ski traverse.

Terrain

The terrain throughout is serious and complex.  As some of the pictures show, the routefinding often looks improbable.  The surprising thing is that there's any reasonable route through it at all.

Much of the route is on 30-35 degree slopes above cliffs -- and below other cliffs.  You can spend a lot of time perceiving the possibility of sliding down the slopes and tumbling over the cliffs.  

This is not a place to be caught in a stretch of bad weather, or after some combination of snow and temperatures suddenly increased the avalanche hazard.  For these reasons, I would plan to get through the middle of the route quickly.

And evacuating a seriously injured person from most points on this route is difficult to imagine.  Generally there's no reasonable alternate route, and no easy escape.

Skis

There's not a lot of downhill skiing on this route -- but lots of traversing.  It's not like most ski tours in most of the other ski regions I've visited in the northern hemisphere.  Perhaps better to think of it as more a mountaineering traverse than a ski traverse.

There was a lot of terrain where I preferred crampons over skis.  I'd especially counsel switching to booting when the visibility gets bad.  

And skis were definitely a liability on the lengthy exit down Bachelor and Downey creeks -- especially with the downed trees on the Downey Creek trail when we did it in July 1999. 

Guidebooks

Fred Beckey.  Cascade Alpine Guide (volume 2).  But the description of the Bachelor Creek trail may be out of date.

Jim Nelson and Paul Potterfield.  Selected Climbs in the Cascades.  See description of Dome Peak.

Steve Barnett:  The Best Ski Touring in America. (not easy to find)

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