North Palisade is one of the greatest mountaineering peaks in North America. The standard climbing route, U-Notch Couloir, requires ice climbing up a 50 degree headwall, followed by a pitch of rock climbing to gain the summit. In 2006, Chuck, Madeline ("Mad Dog"), and I planned on spending a week in the Palisades, cilmbing North Palisade, Mt. Sill, and Thunderbolt Peak.
After two days of grueling trail-breaking and snow travel with heavy packs (filled with ice and rock climbing gear), we still hadn't made it to our high camp. We built an igloo for fun, and spend an afternoon and evening resting before moving higher on Day 3. We woke up on the third morning to find 3' of snow covering all of our gear. Facing avalanche conditions and an unknown weather pattern, we retreated home, with only a glimpse of the beautiful peaks above.
