DESCRIPTION: The final climb. Notice how my long ice axe easily punched through. It was a soft sugar snow above 10,000 feet because, surprisingly, it had never consolidated much since the last snow storm. We had been planning to take the chute that comes up just to the left of the peak, but we weren't comfortable with the unstable snow conditions and decided to take the less-steep chute further left that comes out on the summit ridge. In the trees was nearly impossible without snowshoes as it was like trying to swim uphill. Out in the gulley there was a little more consolidation due to more sunlight and wind exposure but not enough for a good self-arrest. We compromised by climbing the border between the two. Some consolidation there, and in the event of a slide we might get snagged on a limber pine instead of falling thousands of feet down the chutes.