After the last steep section and almost out of rope
I decided to grovel through the snow above a tree instead
of head directly to the belay trees. It was an absolutely
stupid idea. The rope came tight a few feet from the trees.
Laura was way too frozen to climb and it was getting dark,
so I threaded the anchor, took the useless heat pack out of
my boot, rubbed some blood back into my toes, and cleaned
the route. We glisaded, fell, and post holed
back to the pond below the routes, and started the walk out.
Laura was frozen, I was cold and sore, and we had a long walk.
We arrived at the car by headlamp and went back to our warm
haven for some tea.