“The mountains leaned in and waves of weather washed over us - deep, clear cold alternating with snow, sometimes hurling out of the twilit sky so fast we could watch it cover our tracks. At first, we skied; when the drafts piled too deep for touring skis, we plodded on foot, breaking trail with the dogs porpoising along behind us in powder over their heads. Higher up, the big snows fell. In between storms, the mountains emerged, cast in a luminous pall. The glacier itself seemed half buried.”