We started around 6am as a group of 4 and the snow was fresh from a previous snowfall the previous night. In my opinion, this peak has one of the best views of the city below and I was really looking forward to seeing it again. The sun was shining so the weather was on our sides today and the temperature made it a pleasant hike up the mountain.

The first 4 miles were pretty straight forward as the trail was pretty much going up to the Icehouse Saddle but the views were so beautiful that it made those 4 miles feel like a cakewalk. After the saddle, the real struggle began, since it was freshly packed snow, the trail was not that visible so we waited a few minutes until a hiker with crampons with gps began to set the trail, it was then our turn to go. The hard part came after the ridge that connects Bighorn and Cucamonga Peak, the snow had completely covered the trail so everyone pretty much went their own way but the trail did eventually become visible so we continued on.

There was one point where due to the lightly packed snow, whenever I placed my foot onto it, I would sink in. I made my way to the side of the trail in order to let people pass and planned a different attempt at that section. I rolled on my back and stomach in order to avoid the sketchy part of the trail and continued on, by this point, the group that I was with had already moved on so it was now a game of catch-up. My brother and I eventually make it up to the peak at around 2:30pm but only to discover that people kept telling my friends that we had turned back and gone back down, it was this peak that fueled me to take out the rest of the peaks this year. We all made it back down around 7pm beaten and broken but excited for what we had all just accomplished