The climb went really quickly, and with only 600m elevation to the summit, we made decent progress swapping out who was breaking trail. The boys kindly let me lead for awhile despite my pace being a little slower, and I enjoyed kicking steps into a mix of hard crust and fresh snow. Around the 1700m mark, there was some debate about which direction to go, since the couloir branches in two. We’d read that there’s a pretty spicy mixed line, and we had not brought gear to protect anything like that so wanted to find the most snow possible. We eventually decided on trending left, since despite the trip reports and gps tracks, the line in front of us really looked much better. 

Thankfully our decision was the correct one, and we soon reached the expected mixed step. We’d brought a short rad line in case anyone wanted a belay, so Francis and Alex took off first, soloing up with the rope. I waited with Matt while they set up an anchor; partly to give myself time to make a decision, and partly to make sure he was safely tied in before I finally opted to solo it as well. When I swung my axe (gently) I expected to hit rock, but to my surprise it was covered in ice! I made a couple very satisfying swings into solid ice, and pulled myself up the narrow section. It was definitely my favourite part of the whole climb. With really solid ice placements, I felt confident and extra stoked to be out in the mountains.