[Trailcat]

The closures of the Cascade River Road and Downey Creek Trail this summer have limited access to the Ptarmigan Mountains, but I and five other determined mountaineers managed to complete the Ptarmigan Traverse and climb Dome Peak in early August. We had our hands full due to a variety of difficult conditions throughout the traverse. A full report, with photos and maps, can be found here: https://trailcatjim.com/ptarmigan-traverse-dome-peak-2021/ Below is a trip synopsis and a dozen sample photos. Day 0: Walk up Cascade River Road to trailhead at night. Day 1: Hike up to Cascade Pass and over Cache Col to Kool-Aid Lake in fog and rain. Day 2: Hunker down in the rain and fog all day. Day 3: Climb up to Spider-Formidable Col and down to Yang Yang Lakes, sustaining a rockfall injury along the way. Day 4: Climb up to Sentinel Pass and traverse to White Rock Lakes, encountering challenging ice along the way. Day 5: Climb up to Dana-Dome Saddle, attempting to climb Spire Point along the way. Day 6: Climb Dome Peak under surprisingly challenging conditions, then traverse to Cub Lake. Day 7: Hike over Cub Lake Pass and thrash down Bachelor Creek to Downey Creek Trail. Day 8: Hike out to Suiattle River Road, passing through 2020 forest burn along the way.

[iron]

dang. dome had nearly zero seasonal snowpack remaining... and that summit block looks dirtier than i remember. maybe it was snowcovered when we did it.

[zephyr]

[Trailcat]

In between the fog at the beginning and the smoke at the end, we did have great visibility and lighting!

[awilsondc]

[zephyr]