We could have returned the way we came but decided to take the advice of "Ricky" and go back on the east slope to the Tuckett Pass. Why backtrack? (Though one hiker said to me, "It's ok to backtrack because the views are different going the other way.") The going was slow and extreme. It took us 6 hours to go 5 miles. We crossed 8 or 9 steep snowfields, clutched the Via Ferrata cables with our lives, and then at the pass shivered to see we had a black diamond ski run to get down (without skis or crampons). We took it step by step though I wished I had a toboggan! Most humiliating was when an Italian glissaded by while eating a sandwich and I was inching down on my butt. Being so snow-challenged blows our claim to be Canadian.
Okay, the guy with the sandwich is pretty darn funny. But I didn't really mean it when I said they'd need to airlift you off the mountain. Take care. Use your butt as much as you need to. Don't hurt anything more than your pride!!
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