Within moments I am in whiteout conditions, the snow sticking to everything, even the vertical sides of the ragged mountain. After putting the guidebook away, I continue on. The impasse for the others proves to be difficult mostly due to the weather conditions. Again I stop, this time to add another layer and keep dry and warm. After twenty minutes the weather changes abruptly, now I have glorious sunshine: off comes the raingear.

Normally I don’t hike alone in areas where I haven’t been. What motivated me that day is a mystery, even to me. I am not the type of hiker who must persevere no matter the consequences, actually I am normally quite the opposite. My general thought is the mountain will be there tomorrow, and if I take care of myself, so will I. So while I tend to like extreme conditions, I treat them with the respect they deserve. This climb was special from the moment I left Jim’s rental car, it was a feeling I had then and it has proved to remain true over twenty years later. While frightened by the bear, then the young man, something was calling out to me that day, I knew I could complete this climb safely.

The sunshine didn’t last but a few minutes when a massive black cloud raced in from the west. More wind and heavy snow: time to break out the jacket. The guidebook was clear and I had a good sense of where I was, just not clear enough. The climbing became steep, almost vertical, with small snow covered hand and foot holds. Slowly I made progress, not concerned with the time. Above me was a flat surface that required me to mantle up onto it. When I turned toward my left I froze, something didn’t feel right. As if on cue, the snow stopped momentarily and I was able to see down the ledge ahead of me. One step more would have been my last. The route was toward my right and I was able to see a fair section of it before the wet snow resumed. With my gloves off I grasped the wet handhold above me and aimed myself back on route. The weather was absolutely wild, constantly shifting wind directions, snowing intensely then not at all, and creating a challenge that I was not fully prepared for. The climb remained steep and difficult and I must have meandered off route again. The sole advantage I thought was there wouldn’t be any bear on this steep of rock.