Ptarmigan Traverse

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Glacier Peak Wilderness
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Ptarmigan Traverse

Page Type:	Area/Range
Lat/Lon:	48.46760°N / 121.0591°W
Activities:	Mountaineering
Season:	Summer
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Overview

The Ptarmigan Traverse peaks are those arrayed along the part of the Crest of Washington's North Cascades from Cascade Pass, south to Dome Peak. The Ptarmigan Traverse (or “PT”) is a week-long, off-trail high route weaving between those glaciated peaks. There's a separate Mountain Page for the trek itself, with five Route pages for the stages of the trip. Check there for details and photos of the trip.

The Peaks

The table below lists the major, named peaks of the Ptarmigan. Only a few of them have SP pages so far. The route pages for the stages of the traverse list about an equal number of minor summits that are named in the guidebooks, but not on the map.

Name	Elevation	Acme Map
Mix-Up Peak	7440	MAP
Magic Mountain	7610	MAP
Hurry-up Peak (S Mountain)	7821	MAP
Spider Mountain	8280	MAP
Mount Formidable	8325	MAP
Le Conte Mountain	7762	MAP
Old Guard Peak	8240	MAP
Sentinel Peak	8261	MAP
Lizard Mountain	7400	MAP
Spire Point	8264	MAP
Dome Peak	8920	MAP
Sinister Peak	8440	MAP
Gunsight Peak (Blue Mountain)	8198	MAP

The original Ptarmigan party climbed Buckner, Sahale, and Johannesberg at the N end of the traverse. Dome is usually considered the S end of the PT, but Sinister and Gunsight are so tempting and so remote from any other approach, they're often climbed as part of a Ptarmigan trip.