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Ptarmigan Ridge Trail offers one of the superb hiking experiences in the North Cascades. Views of Mt. Baker to the south and Mt. Shuksan to the east tend to dominate one's attention along a ridge that extends five miles to Camp Kiser where climbers begin ascending the glaciers. The ridge is exposed and can be snow covered through July and even early August. This photograph was taken about three miles out where the trail skirts the flanks of the Coleman Pinnacle. Mt. Shuksan is over 9100 feet above sea level, its hanging glacier and summit pyramid marking a contrast with the cylindrical cone formed by the glaciers on Mt. Baker, 10,770 feet in elevation.

Mt. Shuksan, Ptarmigan Ridge Trail, North Cascades, alpine wild flowers
Mt. Shuksan from Ptarmigan Ridge
6 x 24, 8 x 30, 10 x 36
2009