Eric Sandbo - Sep 12, 2005 2:11 am - Hasn't voted

Thanks, Paul. i wasn't sure about Spider's height, so I went with the map. I'll amend it to 8280+. As for a Ptarmigan Group, I agree completely. There are more than enough peaks along the route to justify an SP group, and most Washington mountaineers who have heard of Formidable, Sentinel and the rest, automatically think of the Ptarmigan when they hear those names.

I also agree that Jo'berg and Sahale are outside the PT. It would make sense to have a Cascade Pass group (Derek has talked of this) that would include peaks from Torment (maybe Eldorado) to Booker on the N and Johannesberg to Magic on the S. Mix-up and Magic would be in both groups. [I'm working on a Mix-up page, by the way, and intend to add photos to your Formidable page.

And, yes, I made that table of summits anticipating that those would be turned into links as pages show up on SP. I'll also link within the descriptive text as appropriate.

I expect some controversy over the PT page, especially after reading Message Board threads about what peaks are worthy of PT, and I don't want to start a precedent that will encourage people to write up a page for every trail that goes near a hill, but the Ptarmigan is a special case. I'm sure there are other places in the world where an off-trail route has become a destination in itself, with multiple major summits along it, but there probably aren't many that are used strictly by climbers and strictly to go climbing, as the Ptarmigan is.

Ragu - Dec 6, 2005 9:51 pm - Voted 10/10

I think adding the links to all the mountains is a great idea. But why not include Johannesburg and Sahale, and Buckner as well. Even though these are not part of the "modern-day" traverse, they were part of the original, which we all know has not been repeated.



Maybe by adding them it would entice someone to repeat the original?!?

Eric Sandbo - Dec 10, 2005 3:03 am - Hasn't voted

I didn't know that Sahale, Jo'berg, and Buckner were part of the first traverse! Damn, I'd feel like a pinball bouncing around all those before heading south; no wonder they haven't been repeated in the traverse.

We'd had some discussion about the Ptarmigan vs. Cascade Pass groups before I started the PT page; I figured the Cascade Pass group should include Eldorado to Booker and Johannesberg to Magic or Hurry-Up. The Ptarmigan group should include (I figured) Mixup & peaks S. to Dome, overlapping the CP group a bit. I guess we should overlap them a bit more. Thanks for the history, the vote, and the photos. I have Stage 3 mostly written and expect to submit it after a couple weeks spent on another project. Your photos and those from Bob Bolton will liven it up. I did much of the stage in weather that allowed me to see my compass and some of our other party members, but not much of the mountains. Thanks again.

Eric Sandbo - Sep 12, 2005 4:32 am - Hasn't voted

Thanks! I added Stage 1 tonight, but still need to add a bunch of photos & links.

Eric Sandbo - Sep 12, 2005 4:35 am - Hasn't voted

Thanks Martin! It has a few more active links and a first stage Route page, but there's still much to add. It may take a week or more at my speed, but I'll try to make it useful & pretty.

Eric Sandbo - Oct 23, 2005 3:53 am - Hasn't voted

About 15 years ago the Skagit Alpine Club brought in a USFS (or was it NPS?) employee to give a talk about the effort to reintroduce grizzlies & wolves to the area. He had photos of wolves in several areas. He hadn't seen any grizzlies after 5 years or so, but he was the guy sent out whenever one was reported, and in several cases he confirmed the tracks he found were from the big guys. His previous job was pulling similar duty in Montana where grizzlies are common, so he knows which tracks are which.

On a related note, my partner saw a wolverine on Iley-Wiley Ridge between Mount Challenger and Beaver Pass. I missed it, because I was down the slope, on my belly taking flower photos. He described what had to be a wolverine following our trail down to a rockpile near our camp, and pointed out a drop of blood in a hole under the rocks. Kevin got down on his knees to reach in and touch the drop, while I envisioned carrying his arm home in a plastic bag. Would've been pointless -- it was two days back. We asked about it later at a ranger station and were told there are no wolverines in the Washington Cascades. God, I'd have loved to get a picture of that guy! Got a lot of other good shots on that trip, though, including the ptarmigan I used for this page.

Thanks for the vote. I need to get busy and add some more stages.

-Eric

Derek Franzen - Nov 20, 2005 8:24 pm - Voted 10/10

Personal experiences: When I was hiking up the PCT from Rainy Pass my wife and I came upon a Grizzly in the middle of the trail, this was in 1977. On another trip, this time to Black Peak, while camped near Lewis Lake a small pack of wolves crossed a Talus slope 100 yards away from our position; this trip was in 1979.



Derek.

Eric Sandbo - Oct 31, 2005 1:05 am - Hasn't voted

Thanks! I keep hoping someone will step up and add some more stages, partly because I'm lazy, and partly because I did much of the 3rd & 4th stages in lousy weather and have very few photos. Thanks for the message, not only because it's flattering, but because it reminds me the page is not done yet.

Eric Sandbo - Nov 9, 2005 7:36 pm - Hasn't voted

Thanks! I hope you do it. Stage 3 will show up on SP fairly soon; I've written most of the description, but still need to do a map and scan slides.