A friend and I are looking for some kind of multi-day epic (by our standards) hike/scramble/traverse to do in basically any of WA, CO, WY or UT in the end of May.

Ideally a long traverse as far from paths as possible, but without much above Class 4/5. Teton Grand Traverse is too difficult. Ptarmigan Traverse and Torment-Forbidden Traverse in Washington seem like what we're looking for, but I'm not sure how possible they are (my friend doesn't ski) in the end of May. We have about a week to play with.

Appreciate any ideas or advice!

If you feel that the Grand Traverse is beyond your ability, then I would rule out Torment-Forbidden. It is more difficult (and condition dependent) that the grades suggest. May is very early for this route, as well as the Ptarmigan Traverse due to deep snow.

Late May? Probably southwest Colorado is your best bet. One thing that looks interesting to me, but that I've only done in pieces, is traversing the Grenadiers near Silverton. Start at Mount Garfield, follow the ridge to Graystone, tag Arrow and Vestal, traverse Trinity, then keep going to the Guardian. That should all be no harder than low fifth. The only part I haven't seen is the ridge between Trinity and Storm King. My trip reports:

http://www.drdirtbag.com/2017/10/12/ele ... graystone/
http://www.drdirtbag.com/2012/07/18/arr ... l-trinity/
http://www.drdirtbag.com/2016/09/30/sto ... rdian-15h/

ExcitableBoy wrote:If you feel that the Grand Traverse is beyond your ability, then I would rule out Torment-Forbidden. It is more difficult (and condition dependent) that the grades suggest. May is very early for this route, as well as the Ptarmigan Traverse due to deep snow.

Thanks for the note, I haven't really looked into the Grand Traverse that much to be honest. Reading some reports from Torment-Forbidden put it at maybe-just-possible/maybe-pushing-it, so probably Grand Traverse is there too and probably they're both out of my reach for now!

seano wrote:Late May? Probably southwest Colorado is your best bet. One thing that looks interesting to me, but that I've only done in pieces, is traversing the Grenadiers near Silverton. Start at Mount Garfield, follow the ridge to Graystone, tag Arrow and Vestal, traverse Trinity, then keep going to the Guardian. That should all be no harder than low fifth. The only part I haven't seen is the ridge between Trinity and Storm King. My trip reports:

http://www.drdirtbag.com/2017/10/12/ele ... graystone/
http://www.drdirtbag.com/2012/07/18/arr ... l-trinity/
http://www.drdirtbag.com/2016/09/30/sto ... rdian-15h/

Thanks that sounds promising! We were starting to look at CA for low-snow options, but I think Colorado has had a pretty bad year snow-wise, so do you think the southwest could already be fine to hike and scramble in late May?

There could still be some miraculous late-season snow in southern CO, but it has been a dismal snow year so far. Wham Ridge is north-facing, but the Grenadiers are east-west, and a lot of the route is on the south side. Keep an eye on Snotel.

The crux of the Grand Traverse is north-facing, and the Tetons have had above-average snow this winter, so that would be Serious Business.

In my mind May is volcano season in the PNW. Maybe do some kind of enchainment:

Mt Hood Cooper Spur or Sunshine route and South Side of Mt Adams. You will likely encounter some road walking due to the early season, but it should not be too bad.

Tattoosh Range traverse in Mt Rainier National Park would be interesting and accessible.

Something silly on Rainier like climbing the Kautz Glacier route topping out at Point Success then enchaining Columbia Crest, and Liberty Cap, and Little Tahoma.

The Coleman Headwall, North Ridge, or Coleman Demming routes on Mt Baker enchaining the East Ridge of Colfax Peak after descending the Roman wall and then something on Shuksan like the White Salmon or North Face.