Ski Tracks, Ptarmigan Peak: route description and topo

Last Sunday, Cory Hinds and I climbed Ski Tracks, a 8-10 pitch mixed route on Ptarmigan Peak that's seven miles from my house. The route gets its name because ice (normally) forms in two parallel lines near the top of the north face and could appear like ski tracks. Cory drew a topo and typed up a route description, which I'm posting here because it's the only way for it to reach the public (he wrote it for the Alaska Mountaineering Club's monthly publication, which only reaches paying members).

We had a blast of a day. Biking in five ish miles on packed snow and climbing mostly easy mixed terrain with some snow slopes. The wind picked up in the afternoon and sent torrents of spindrift down on us. The last two pitches were the thinnest Cory has seen them (he's climbed the route five other times). We reached the summit at 3:30 PM, enjoyed some sunshine, splendid powder glissading, and bombed back to the truck on the bikes. This was the most diverse day trip I've done in the last several years--we had everything from fun and easy biking, frozen hands, vicious spindrift, a bit of post holing, and stunning view of countless mountains including Denali. What a great day.

Ski Tracks Topo

Pitch 1

We found a little bit of ice. And had great views--Denali is the distant bump on the right.

Summit view--mountains beyond mountains!

Cory's Route Description

Pitch 1:  Start at the first major bulge of rock on the right side of the north couloir, at the base of an obvious weakness in the mountain trending up to the right, approximately 500 feet from the bottom of the couloir and ~1 hr hike from the Powerline.  Kick steps up a short slot, clipping a fixed pin on the right when it steepens.  Climb through and around blocks and steps with good jugs and frozen turf, passing a fixed spectre on the right (crux #1).  Continue straight up to a set of slings around a block.  Clip the slings with some long runners and traverse right another 30 meters or so to another block with slings on the shoulder (low angle but run out).

Pitch 2:  Ascend the easy snow ramp, placing protection in the rock wall on the left.   Stop at a left-trending ramp before reaching the ridge crest, and before reaching a rock wall with black streaks.   We found a fixed tricam at the anchor, a few steps up the ramp.   Recommend simul-climbing the ramp to the anchor.   

Pitch 3:  Climb the left trending ramp and turn the corner to the right up into a chimney.  Stem past a chock stone then stem up and exit left (crux #2) at the top of the chimney.  Traverse left 10 m or so after exiting the chimney, and up around a broad ridge to a snow field.   Climb the snow field to a short face where you will find a fixed anchor.

Pitch 4:  Walk right up a snow ramp into a major amphitheater with a steep rock wall at the back.   There are various options here.  Go left to the ice if the ice is in good shape.   If it looks too thin (which it often is), descend back to the center of the amphitheater and kick steps up the snow ramp on the right side of the amphitheater and set a belay left of an obvious weakness in the rock wall.  

Pitch 5:  Climb through the weakness, finding good rock protection and exciting moves with good foot steps and some frozen turf (crux #3).  At the top of the short wall (40 m or so), move left and up across a snow ramp to first possible belay anchor in the rock wall above.

Pitch 6:   Move left and around a short corner.  If ice to the left is good, climb the steep step.  If it is rotten, climb lower angle rock and turf to the right of the ice, up through an awkward squeeze slot.  Then ascend left across some lower angle ice and up into the right Ski Track gully.  Belay at a crack at the top end of the first rock wall on the left side of the gully.   

Pitch 7:  Climb straight up, over a short steep ice step and through a lower angled snow field.  Belay at base of next steep pitch.

Pitch 8:  Climb up the steepening couloir, typically filled with ice.  This is moderate ice climbing, maybe grade 3+ or 4-.   Near the top of the couloir, the route steepens and the ice sometimes thins (crux #4).  If the ice is too thin, look for options of rock protection in the left wall.  In low ice years (like January 2016), this can make things very exciting, with a long runout. Top out around a final small boulder and look for a fixed spectre in the next crack on the left.   Your partner can walk up onto safe ground and belay you up.   

Walk up to the right up an obvious ramp and top out on the ridge then turn left and walk to the summit.   Enjoy the view, then hike off the backside, down through Ptarmigan Pass, and back down to Powerline.