Destination Peak

Short and sweet. Met up with Tanya Milligan and Bo Beck for the first time. Not sure of snow conditions, we brought crampons, etc. toward our objective, one I'd viewed from several angles and believed to be among the harder summits on the park's east side.

Gifford Wash was frozen (sand -and- water) and travel was quick and pleasant. The slabs leading up toward the Bridge Mountain Arch approach were mostly snowfree and easy.

Getting to the plateau between our objective (right) and "Gifford Peak" (left), we dropped down toward the slot on the west side. From there, we got into the south chute and headed up. No major issues.

Reaching the base of the summit ridge atop the chute, Bo and I bagged an aesthetic snow-covered crag. A little sketchy.

From there...summit. Great views. And a register just placed and signed (one month earlier) by Joe French.

Turned out the peak was actually among the easiest of the east side summits. At the time, my 37th unique summit within the park's boundaries.

Great weekend out. Great company. Nice folks.