Dark Nature

We struggled to put in a boot pack to the base of the route. The pack was very unsupportive due to deep faceting. No instability as we trudged our way up. The route climbed well. P1 ice was blue and fat. Snow slope between P1&2 was packed down with a fresh layer of snow. A snowball sized chunk of snow released from the rocks to the left of the climb above the P2 belay. P2 pillar not touching down. Climbed the mixed sections to occasionally picked out ice that took good screws.

Intermittent light flurries through out the day. We were occasionally in cloud.

No signs of instability where we booted up the approach slope on the climbers right. Various layering depending on elevation and snow pack depth. We noticed significantly more faceting in thin pack areas with rocky bedding. There was some old avalanche debris in the middle of the slide path. It was covered with a fresh dusting of snow. Very deep faceting at the bottom of the snow pack made for difficult travel. Boot penetration to ground at some points (chest high).