Winter Solstice - ice

* Tried Winter Solstice as a plan B. Approach up the ridge is decent but after departing the ridge crest we had some postholing and bushwhacking. Minimal to ankle deep snow on the ridge, then shin to knee deep between the ridge crest and the base of the climb. A little slow going at times. * Left side of the climb looked the lower angle but might also be wet. Looked like you might have some shell or since but generally decent looking. Right side had a fairly steep pillar on its right and what may be an easier groove formed by the left side of the pillar. It did look wet today though. * Climb is listed as a 25m route and the left side may be about 25m to tat on a tree. Right side is definitely longer and leads up to a rap station in the bushes. Strongly suggest a 70m rope for the right side. * There seems to be minimal avi hazard hiking up the ridge. Leaving the ridge the snow got deeper. The drainage you cross to get to the side drainage and then the climb, had noticeably more snow. Besides being tediously slow uphill trail breaking, there is now a trail broken to follow so it may be a touch faster for you. * The snow leading up to the climb appeared to have a bit of a crust on the surface but little in the way of buried crusts. It seemed fairly stable however we kept to the side as much as we could. * There was a little bit of debris off to the right of the base. Looks to have sluffed off the scrappy low angled rock and not from the top of the cliff. I wouldn't think this is a big hazard but keep it in mind if it looks loaded.

Weather Report

About -4c leaving the car. A little dampness in the air. It felt colder to me as we hiked higher on the ridge. Wind at the climb seemed almost non existent and little more than a breeze on the ridge. Around 3pm there was a very light, flurry of snow. Barely any noticable accumulation and only lasted half an hour..