Ptarmigan Ridge is still seeing late season ascents. Most years this route is climbed before the end of June. Once the summer time sets in and freezing levels rise, this route goes out of shape fairly quick. Experiencing rockfall and rotten unsupportable snow on the lower slopes up to 11,500’ is not uncommon and will demand a high level of skill and risk acceptance.
Below is a trip report provided by Tod and Peter. This climbing team ascended the ridge using the rock step variation on June 21-24.
Summary of our trip: Started at White River and camped on Curtis Ridge the first night on our traverse over to Ptarmigan. Camped at Ptarmigan high camp the second night. Overall the approach was fine, doable in a day if necessary. On summit day, we crossed the bergsrund at 5:00AM (a little late in retrospect) and summited at 4:30PM. We camped at Schurman on the way out. Had great weather with freezing levels around 10,000 feet keeping the face quiet. Conditions were lean which led to us pitching it out more than anticipated. The hourglass was ugly and we belayed rather than simul-ing out of concern for rockfall. Lot’s of grit coming down due to wind, but nothing major. We were able to find decent sheltered belays, but most rock gear is suspect because of the fractured nature of the rock. The ice pitch (see picture below) on the right-hand traverse was great and can be seen from the approach, it's highlight of the climb. It's about 200 feet of 55 degree blue ice. The rock step exit was one ridge past that. We missed it and traversed out under the Mowich face.Some things I’d recommend to other climbers attempting it soon or in similar (mid season conditions):A rock rack was essential: we took a .4 BD Camelot, 3 small to medium HB offsets and 2 Lowe Tricams (Brown and pink). We used most of it multiple times and would take some even smaller nuts if we were to do it again.Hourglass: It looks really bad from high camp, but is manageable. Stay right of the 10 foot high exposed rock band that cuts across the face. The rock band has ice on it, but it’s detached and and won’t take screws. Couldn’t find gear elsewhere unless you had pins. In a week or two the right route may be complete junk, but it’s still probably better than trying the rock band.
We appreciate all the great photos and trip reports coming in from climbers on the mountain over the last couple of weeks. Thanks for all the support!
