Observatory Ridge

Today Lee and I went to Observatory Ridge for a great mountaineering day. The forecast was for good morning weather deteriorating to poor weather in the afternoon. So we got a reasonable start and were leaving the van at 0830. The ridge was a touch damp and there was a half inch of hail/snow on most of the ledges but not enough to impact badly on the climbing. We pitched the first 4 rope lengths and then moved together up the rest of the ridge and the weather stayed dry and clear all until we had summited at lunchtime and beyond. So after we got to the top it seemed sensible to continue Lee's acquaintance with the North Face with a descent of Ledge Route. We had the odd spit of rain on the way down but nothing serious as we wandered down the ridge to finish a good day out.