Now totally out in the open, a cold but slight breeze took the tropical feel of the sun away. We continued climbing briskly, and in no time at all, we were on the ice-encrusted summit of Wright Peak. Jenn's dad had done very well; we'd reached the summit in just about three hours. He's now an Adirondack one-er. And a winter one-er, too! only forty-five to go!
The air was exceptionally clear. We could see the major peaks in Vermont much more clearly than usual. Mount Mansfield and Camel's Hump were visible in exceptional detail. Nearby, the high peaks all stood out crisply and clearly, and especially so to the west, where the light's angle was more favourable. Somewhere over by Marcy was where our friend Ewart was today, trying to bag a few winter peaks for himself.
After a few pictures, we settled down under a low wall formed by Wright's Peak, completely out of the wind, and enjoyed lunch basking in the rays of the low winter sun.
Pitchoff, Cascade, and pass
Expansive northwards view
After much picture-taking, we started to head back down. A bit of slippy-slidey here and there, but apart from that, our Yak-trax worked well on the steep ice-and-slow pastered rock. Again, no need for our crampons.
