The Ptarmigan Traverse is one of my favourite alpine routes in Washington state. On September 2020 we saw nearly 700 people on the Cascade Pass trail within a few hours. Saw no one else as soon as we turned onto the Ptarmigan Traverse which went on for several days. Even Downey Creek had complete solitude. So many exciting climbs along this route.
Rising towers near Dome Peak. Small arch can be seen
Looking out toward Paul Bunyan's Stump
Le Conte Lake
Sunset on Spire Point
Rising like Fire
Heading down before losing light
Moon rise with Mount Formidable
Views from Old Guard Peak looking towards Le Conte Col
Awesome photos! I recognize your name from some of the Cascades summitpost pages. The Ptarmigan Traverse is a bucket list trip for me...one of these days. That last photo is jawdropping.
Outstanding set Josh, you really nailed the light and clouds using them to best advantage as a design element. It has been a pleasure to watch your photography and editing work mature over the years - this is the best set I've seen you post anywhere, every one of these is print worthy. Thanks for the large gorgeous versions.
junglialoh wrote:
beautiful moutainous view, especially Le Conte Lake
Thank you Junglialoh. This was truly a breath of fresh air in the early-ish days of the pandemic. We felt like we'd gone back in time.
justindong wrote:
Awesome photos! I recognize your name from some of the Cascades summitpost pages. The Ptarmigan Traverse is a bucket list trip for me...one of these days. That last photo is jawdropping.
Thank you Justin. I loved the Ptarmigan Traverse so much that I had to do it a second time (this set). First time was mostly in a white out despite having the absolutely best forecast possible! White out or not; this place is absolutely fun and wild.
Bill Gass wrote:
Beautiful pictures. You got clear up there I see, incredible views.
Thank you Bill. There was a little shiver factor involved when we were jet blasted from high winds and charging through a white out before the weather would get even worse. Despite that we had a fantastic time with many great views that lasted hours on some of the days.
Jim Dockery wrote:
Outstanding set Josh, you really nailed the light and clouds using them to best advantage as a design element. It has been a pleasure to watch your photography and editing work mature over the years - this is the best set I've seen you post anywhere, every one of these is print worthy. Thanks for the large gorgeous versions.
Appreciated Jim. Found your work on Panoramio in 2006 when I was 13 years old which you were among the photographers that were an inspiration. Started off with disposable film cameras that over exposed and under exposed a lot. Thankfully art class and practice changed everything. Of course years later more advanced techniques were discovered. In honour of your comment I'll add more to this post.
Starfire8 wrote:
Very beautiful photography and an awesome, in the clouds journey! Thanks for sharing, Josh!
Thank you David. We thought about postponing the trip but decided it was already late in the season for this kind of glacier traverse. The glaciers were still passable with a few small spots to be careful on.
Magic Mountain with Golden Light
Michael Making Haste with Forbidden, Sahale, and Ripsaw Ridge in background
Looking east with Le Conte Lake and Old Guard Peak
Wow, another fantastic set Josh! All are perfectly exposed and nicely processed.
I remember corresponding with you BITD, and your first posts on NWH. Glad I could inspire you, but the love of the mountains you displayed in your honest TRs inspired me too. I'm just glad you survived those dangerous years (me too - many close calls BITD).
I can't believe I never did The Ptarmigan Traverse. Not sure I'm going to now unless I can find a strong young guide to carry my camera gear for me. I don't see much sense in doing it without a good camera set-up and tripod. Thanks again for taking us on a vicarious trip into the heart of the North Cascades.
Thanks Jim. Feels like a life time ago. Been wanting to get back into writing. Climbs have been far less spicy these days doing safer peaks with all the right gear and a lot of wisdom I found the hard way. It's been nice saying no to spicy trip offers. Denali threw a little spice but overall was very pleasant (I may have had the most fun?).
My pack on this trip was probably around 25lbs including full crevasse rescue setup. Tent weighted less than 2lbs which was split between Michael and I. I have dozens of tricks to save weight such as Gatorade bottles instead of Nalgenes which goes from a 50lb pack to a 25-30lb pack! Took a lot of research to pull off along with personal experiments. Now cozier than ever in the mountains averaging 7-8 hours of sleep.
Camera wear wise have you made the transition to mirrorless? For $250 I bought a Sony a5100 with a high quality OSS lens that includes touch screen and other bells/whistles. I did not bring a tripod on this trip but do for others. My trekking pole has a custom U shape mount that the lens rests on. Took a few hours of dremel work to make so that my Costco $15 carbon fiber trekking pole can hold the mount via a double screw. Wasn't needed on this trip but certainly handy in a lot of situations with a large telephoto lens/low light. It weights around 13oz's including the trekking pole which I use for balance on glaciers and boulders. Removable setup of course.
My spinal compression was a big barrier. But I've learned never to give up on my dreams.
Cascade Valley with Flowers
Me jumping with Kool Aid at Kool Aid lake (taken by Michael Lewis)
Gunsight Peak's North Face
Gunsight, Sinister, and Dome Peak (left to right)
Our escape was up the middle glacier ridge left of Spire Point
Josh, admire your persistence and hard work on this trip. Always love reading the back story which made the images more interesting and enjoyable. Fantastic images and thanks for sharing.
Another great set Josh, love the pika and Michel in the slide alder. Good work getting the pack weight down and excellent results with a small moderately priced camera set-up. Yes, I switched to mirrorless in 2011 with a Sony NEX-7 and never looked back. I'm now shooting an A7rII with a few Sony lenses.
Kool-Aid lake, funny...
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Is that a frozen bee in the picture, Enduring ?
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Gunsight Peak is amazing.
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Again, thanks for sharing, very beautiful pixs.
keepclicking wrote:
Josh, admire your persistence and hard work on this trip. Always love reading the back story which made the images more interesting and enjoyable. Fantastic images and thanks for sharing.
Thank you. Social media sometimes gives the wrong impression that captions/story doesn't have as much value. Which we know isn't true but it does effect motivation.
kwilliam8 wrote:
Stunning images! Thanks for sharing them!
Appreciated. Always a pleasure to share.
Jim Dockery wrote:
Another great set Josh, love the pika and Michel in the slide alder. Good work getting the pack weight down and excellent results with a small moderately priced camera set-up. Yes, I switched to mirrorless in 2011 with a Sony NEX-7 and never looked back. I'm now shooting an A7rII with a few Sony lenses.
Appreciated Jim. That was the 'less brushy' photo of the bushwhack; the other one you could barely see Michael next to me. I would have brought the Sony a7ii with a Sony 24-105 f/4 lens, but rain in the forecast made me protective of my favourite setup. There was a little rain and a lot of mist at a few segments. Despite my affinity to lighter gear, the full frame comes with me even if I'm carrying over 100lbs!
Bill Gass wrote:
Kool-Aid lake, funny...
.
Is that a frozen bee in the picture, Enduring ?
.
Gunsight Peak is amazing.
.
Again, thanks for sharing, very beautiful pixs.
I appreciate it Bill. I recall it wasn't quite freezing out but was certainly quite chilly. The bee was quite wet though. That morning went bare foot doing 100 jumping jacks to wake myself up. Not cozy but it did the trick after many days of climbing through the wilderness. Might climb Gunsight Peak someday. It's one of the hardest peaks in Washington state.
