It was just the week before and Mailbox Peak was an oh-so-lovely slog under gray skies with zero views and solid ice under foot. It was pretty much what you'd expect in the "off" season. In fact, it was so typical you might wonder why we'd bother to climb in the off season at all.
Exhibit A: This sunrise.
In just a week, much of the worst ice had melted off and those gray skies and angry clouds had disappeared. I started under a clear sky full of stars and was treated to a slow progression from black to tangerine to light blue as the sun rose. There's little that compares to a sunrise in the mountains.
The only problem with such a great morning is it reminds you there's always a chance the effort of the climb will be richly rewarded. Too many great adventures have made the fear of missing out too real to sleep in. DANG YOU FOMO!
Usually, FOMO leads us to make bad choices. You could argue spending the morning on a frozen peak isn't exactly a good choice, but it's not the sort of choice that's actually bad.
It certainly wasn't bad on this morning, but don't worry. There will be more bad choices to come. I'm just too afraid.
