My third failed attempt on this route. this time we turned around within sight of the gully because of avalanche conditions (the slope is SE facing with a heinous runout and gets pounded by icefall).
I climbed the bulk of this route on Saturday. After breaking knee and hip deep (in places) trail for hours, I was finally turned around by the increasing avalanche danger. The north faces of Index were sliding all morning and were increasing in size. Next time I try this peak, I think I'll approach from Persis.