Quick report
Headed out at 8am from the trailhead for an attempt on McCallum in 1 day. Quick progress up the drainage thanks to the skin track fairies who came before us. The second half of the drainage was full of rock and gravel debris, made it difficult to ski out as far without shredding the bases of our skis. Snow conditions were variable once we arrived in the valley, some pockets of soft powder to mostly knife-hard windboard and sastrugi. No fresh snow to note. Impatiently gained the bumps climbers right at the base of McCallum, and had to quickly transition to crampons as skis started to slip and surface became firm and icy. A quick pit revealed 3-inch wind slab over about 3 feet of consolidated snowpack. The slab held up until moderate bashing, so we started our attempt. Climbed via the right side of the rocky south ridge for half an hour through sustained exposed terrain with steep slope angles, and subpar foot holds on a layer of stiff snow, sliding facets and rocks. Felt more at risk of falling off mountain vs mountain falling on us. Bailed around 6k and headed back to the parking lot. We were able to ski 4 miles back down the valley into the creek. Continually going right seemed "faster," but going left may have been more "successful".