Now the work begins.

The easy part is almost over. Soon this drainage starts heading steeply up the mountain, and the route alternates between horribly loose scree and Class 3-4 scrambling. If you stay in the couloir itself as you ascend but run into conditions that are too difficult, get out your route-finding skills to work around obstacles; use the right side of the couloir. The actual line of the couloir is left of center in this view; it's a little easier to discern if you enlarge the picture. Absaroka Range, Wyoming-- July 2014