Of Washington’s numerous established alpine traverses, the Ptarmigan Traverse is the most famous. It follows the spine of the North Cascades between Cascade Pass and the Suiattle River, remaining continuously above treeline. The route is rugged and off-trail, and crosses multiple glaciers and high passes. No roads or marked trails intersect the route between its northern and southern exits, increasing its remoteness and commitment. All of these factors contribute to the Ptarmigan’s wilderness character and appeal.
Snowking Mountain is a massive, yet somewhat obscure mountain south of the Cascade River Road. Despite its relatively low elevation (7,433’), its slopes hold big glaciers that show up prominently in satellite imagery.
The May 11 weekend was forecasted to have the warmest temperatures of the year yet, reaching near 80 degrees in the lowlands. Coupled with fresh snowfall earlier in the week, mushy snow conditions and wet avalanche danger were guaranteed.
Eldorado Peak via the standard East Ridge is a classic North Cascades glacier climb. It’s also notable for being the highest point on top of the Inspiration-Klawatti-McAllister ice sheet, which is “the largest contiguous ice-sheet in the lower 48 states not connected to a volcano.” That’s a bit of a mouthful, but basically there would be a lot of glacier ice around which usually means good views.
Logan, Corey, and I drove to the Eldorado lot on Friday night ahead of a Saturday alpine start.
Black Peak is the 13th most prominent mountain in Washington and a classic scramble objective. Access to the peak is off of the mega-popular Maple Pass Loop trail, which I had hiked before on my very first visit to the North Cascades in 2019 and again in 2020. I didn’t know the name of the peak back then, but I do remember seeing Black from the trail and wondering what it would take to climb it.
Mount Baker is one of Washington’s iconic peaks - the biggest mountain in the northern half of the state and visible from nearly every high summit and some of the lowlands too. It’s the third highest mountain in Washington and the second most glaciated (after Rainier) as it sits close to the sea and receives tons of snowfall each winter.
All routes to the summit cross crevassed glaciers, and knowledge of roped glacier travel and crevasse rescue techniques are considered mandatory to safely climb the mountain.
Ruby Mountain is a centrally located and prominent peak in the heart of the North Cascades with great views across the range. The summit is accessible via a ~5000’ snow climb off of highway 20 in the winter months. This peak had been on our hit list for a while this season so as soon as the weather cleared up, Tim and I planned a trip to do some sunrise photography from the summit.
We’re lucky to have four seasons in Washington, each offering different opportunities (and limitations) for outdoor enthusiasts. Fall is my favorite season for backpacking - the temperatures are comfortable, bugs are (mostly) gone, but the high country hasn’t yet been buried in feet of snow and is still easily accessible.
This trip came in October right after the first non-trivial snowfall of the year. As Kimberly, Deeptanshu, Tim, and I set out on the trial, creeks were trickling all over with snowmelt, the fall colors were popping, and the high peaks had a light coating of fresh snow.
