It was a LONG day on Ellingwood on Friday. I'm not sure if I was having an off day, or if it was the snow; but it took me 9 hours to reach the summit (and only 2 to descend down the northwest ridge). The snow wasn't impassible by any means; but it made route finding more arduous. I definitely felt as though the route was class 4 rather than class 3; but perhaps I was following too close to the ridgeline on account of the snow. There were no other people on the route nor were there footprints in the snow. Long story short, I wouldn't recommend this route until next season. It's pretty dicey with the snow. The standard route is still doable at the moment.
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