What an epic day! We left at five to make use of the frozen snow which is a lot easier to walk on than the slush in the afternoon. It is a cold start though. We are on 10,000ft and the nights are chilly. So it’s nice when the sun actually hits you and warms you up again.

The mountains are getting bigger and higher. Jiehaaaa!!! I can’t wait to finally get there!

Also one of the few wild life spottings besides a few deer – a fox this morning.

And then the first river crossing. There was a log again which was very sketchy and I couldn’t resist to get my feet wet again 😊

The higher we did get the more the scenery changed – everything is covered in snow now. It looks so beautiful. Paired with the blue sky and sunshine.

When we got to the back side of one of the passes the traverse down was really steep! We all got our ice axe out and even had to go down facing the wall for a bit for safety reasons. Good practise though. And then we just sat on our butt for the very last stretch, ice axe pressed in the snow and glacaded down the hill controlling the speed with the ice axe! What a fun! And how fast!!!

The next river crossing for today was a bit harder. The snow bridges had melted already so there was no easy way over. Due to the massiv amount of snow the rivers are raging!

Everett and I tried it in a few spots but had to return or declare it to unsafe for everyone. So we ended up walking upstream for a mile before we found a spot to cross. But it was so much fun! That’s why I am out here for! I first went over to check the conditions and then shuttles back and forth with the ones who didn’t feel comfortable on their own. We all made it across safely and continued.

Every turn or ridge we take reveals a new view… This route is epic!

We had to fight our way back on the trail after our detour to cross the river. We split the task so that Everett is hiking in front and navigating and I am in the back making sure the group stays together and we don’t lose anyone. The last pass for today before we went down in the valley to find a camp spot was just an open plateau. But it offered us a sneak preview what we had to expect the next day.

 

 

We were lucky to find dry spots to pitch the tents in the snow. They were a bit spread out but we came back together for dinner and sunset.