Before Brian headed up I made the somewhat unfair comment that I was tired of photographing this section of earth, the 1st pitch of Hitchcock Gully (it wasn't exactly unfair, but it's not in keeping with the general Mr. Positive vibe I try to maintain when my partner is racking up and getting ready to do the dirty work). The fact of the matter is this is a classic piece of real estate. It looks quite easy in the photo, but it's actually fairly involved. You go up into a cave on the left on thinning ice to a long, exposed step over and up a verglassed and featureless slab. From there you move up into a corner and shimmy on up another verglassed slab, using whatever means possible - hooking, micro-edge handholds, lumber, etc., to move up to a short snowy slope and large tree. We had both been here before, and Brian knew what had to be done. I transferred the rack to him, took his belay jacket from his pack and put it on, then offered a few words of encourgement.

"Let's get lucky."

Brian handled the pitch with ease, leading it in a third of the time he'd taken on our last attempt. It was a superb effort, and, due to a few things on my mind, I probably didn't give him enough credit at the time. I was very, very happy for him, however.