June 2001 

We hiked up towards the snow line and then put on crampons for the initial hike up the "much steeper than we thought it would be" lower gully (see route description for more detail).  Having already hiked seven and one half miles (and having hiked up a 13,000' peak the day before), we realized halfway up this chute that it was going to be a very long day.

Mindful of Alan Ritter's advice not to exit the lower gully too soon, we ended up climbing nearly all the way to the top.  We eventually tired of climbing on the steep snow, so we set up a short class 3 pitch to the right and reached this rocky outcropping.

From the top of the rocky bench, we encountered a tedious traverse over large, steep talus.  As a result, we descended slightly to the west until we reached the bottom of this slope.  The snow band at the top of this slope was pretty steep, which argued for crampons.  From the top, a suncupped snowfield led up to the small col between the SE corner pinnacle and the south ridge of Ritter.  The summit is visible in the center of the photo.

Looking south from the top of the small 45 degree snowfield.  Cecile Lake lies below.

Crossing the dreaded suncups on the southern snowfield.  These suckers were anywhere from 2-4 feet deep, and (unfortunately for us) ran perpendicular to our line of travel, making passage extremely tedious.

Looking down at EB, Liz and Griffin traversing the suncups, with the Minarets and Cecile Lake in the background.

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