We left at 6:00am the next morning and started our trek up the moderately steep slopes. By 10:00am we were at 9,700 feet, where we took an extended break. Since our intent was to stay on the summit we were taking our time to acclimate to the altitude. We melted snow, lunched and relaxed until 1:00pm before resuming the climb. By this time, the snow was quite slushy and required a lot of effort to make headway.

Lack of suitable high camp sites is one reason few people take this route. The truth of this was apparent when we found ourselves at 12,000 feet wanting to make camp. We chose a spot with rock outcrops, thinking there would be less avalanche danger there. We hacked a small level spot out of the snow and ice; the size of the platform was severely limited by the rocks in the snow. By 6:30pm we were ready to start preparing dinner and then to bed. We put as many anchors as we had into the snow above the tent and ran a rope from them into the tent and around our waists in case we rolled over in our sleep.