I put in a screw down low and started up. Before I knew it... I was at the belay tree. It was probably the most fun I had all trip.

Brian came up second, we untied and got the gear back in our packs. We followed some tracks about halfway up to the summit, but it looked like the last party had turned around. We busted through about a quarter mile of crust, sometimes to our waists, before reaching the packed trail to the summit. A very good day.

It's sort of funny. Last year Hitchcock was our nemesis. This year it's the only route we can climb.