Dirty Harry's Peak, Dirty Harry's Balcony — Monday, Feb. 19, 2024

Windy day at the balcony and peak today! Started at 7:15 am and didn't see a soul for over four hours. Trail to the balcony is now clear of ice and snow. At times, the wind was muted, which was nice. Made it to the balcony with no issues. Continued on towards the peak. All creek crossings are quite low and manageable. Things started to get a little spicy at around 3300 ft, when the trail became a solid sheet of ice. I put on spikes and still had to travel carefully. After a steep section of sheer ice (frozen stream over trail), the trail was dry again for a short time. I almost took off my spikes, but was thankful that I didn't, because I would have needed them again quite soon. The trail became icy again and eventually transitioned to packed snow. It was still frozen and a bit slippery. The wind was really picking up as I continued to climb. There is probably over a foot of snow towards the top, but the trail was obvious and packed down. No gaiters necessary. 

Once at the top, I was treated to some nice views and of course, the omnipresent howling wind. Going down was slippery, even with spikes. I guess it's doable without, but I really cannot imagine it would be much fun. Very slick conditions. Started passing some people as I was halfway down, but only saw 4 people total on the peak trail. Started seeing more people once past the balcony and headed back to the TH. Not too busy though. Despite the wind, it was a great climbing day!