We got off-route before reaching the east gully - ascending a different gully which we thought was the "correct" gully but was not. We knew we had gone astray when our gully topped out at a saddle. Nice view of South Colony Lakes, but not the way to the summit.
The move crossing over the east gully was the hardest of the route. I remember it seeming quite a bit harder than Don Holt makes it look in that video.
Once you cross, the short ascending traverse up over the rib, and back down in the west gully, is easy going. As others have noted, a good long look back once you're in the west gully, to identify the return route, pays off on the way down. (But we should all know that by now, shouldn't we?) The photos on this thread really tell that story clearly as well.A young fellow who climbed the Needle the same day as us told us afterward he missed that return crossover and got into some real steep, loose terrain below that point. But he realized his mistake and climbed back up. (Rule 7 from the Quandary West Ridge Rules: If in doubt, backtrack.)
