Route Info Location: Mt. Rainier, Washington Route: Ptarmigan Ridge Difficulty: IV, steep snow and ice, 5th class rock Summit elevation: 14,411 feet Elevation gain: 11,400 feet Max grade: 55 degree ice, short sections of 5th class rock Approach: White River (an alternative is via Mowich Lake) Time: 2-5 days (3 for us) Elevations White River Campground: 4,400 ft Camp on Curtis Ridge: 7,500 ft High Camp on Ptarmigan Ridge: 10,300 ft Summit (Columbia Crest): 14,411 ft Liberty Cap: 14,112 ft Gear 60m 8mm rope, 7 ice screws, a few nuts and a cam (never used), 4 pickets, a few slings, 2 tools each, crampons |
Day 1:
Day 2:
Note: Many parties approach from Mowich Lake, which is a shorter approach, but involves separate entrance/exit trailheads, and hence a car plant. Day 3:
Note: Some parties begin descent after the summit of Liberty Cap rather than tagging the higher summit. As we did, it is possible to descend all the way to the trailhead and not camp at Camp Schurman, and hence make it one long day between the ridge high camp and the car. |
I had climbed Liberty Ridge exactly 1 week before Ptarmigan Ridge. It was interesting to see the amount of melting that occurs over the course of 1 week of normal warm summer weather. As you can see from the photos in the trip report, the crevasses are starting to open up as the summer melting continues.
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My parents climbed Rainier on several occasions in the 1970s (my mom climbed it more than my dad, since before they met she was part of the Tacoma Mountaineers; Rainier was and still is common destination for the Mountaineers). My parents climbed a few different routes (Emmons Glacier, Disappointment Cleaver, Ingraham Glacier, Sunset Ridge, Kautz Icefall) on Rainier, but they never did climb Liberty or Ptarmigan Ridges, although these were on their list. Then I was born, and the list was passed on to me. Here are a few photos from my parents' scrapbooks. The people and gear have changed greatly over the years, but Rainier is much the same now as it was when my parents were climbing it over 30 years ago.
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