I had been pretty concerned about the rain and what it might have done to the ice on the 2nd pitch. It had been warm enough that the running water could have washed the gully down significantly. I did see evidence of copious fallen ice from the gully roof at the base of the pitch. But up higher the ice looked great, with a fairly straightforward, easy line through numerous steps and bulges. The ice on the pitch looked to be only slightly thinner than when I had first climbed it in 2000.

I built a 3-point, equalized anchor and Brian joined me, clipped in.

"Well, are you ready?" Brian asked.

"Sometimes I'm not always as confident as I look."

I drilled a 10cm screw in very crappy ice just above the belay, and headed on up.