Crawling over the top of the knob, we were treated to an insane scene. Far in the distance the high peaks of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks provided the backdrop for an impressive cirque of rock and snow. From right to left, Mt. Tyndall (another 14er), Mt. Verstaag, Trojan Peak, and Mt. Williamson.

From our new perspective, we saw some worrying conditions on Giant Steps. Our views of the line the day before were primarily of the top two steps, and they both looked totally good-to-go. From this angle however, we could see that the third step was interrupted twice by what looked like 20-30' rock drops. We hemmed and hawed for quite sometime before making the safe decision to cross it off the list of possibilities for the day.

This was a really tough moment for all of us. So set on a singular objective, it almost physically pains us to write it off. Did it go? Perhaps there was a very slight chance we weren't seeing a line where there was one. Perhaps, with a rope (which we didn't bring), it could be rappelled. Perhaps, we could downclimb the cliffs to connect the snow strips. These types of questions haunt me, and motivate me to return. But, part of being safe in the mountains, and paving your way for many future endeavors is the ability to make decisions minimally influenced by stoke, eagerness, expectations or the like.

We still had a mission to achieve, and we retooled our minds to focus on summiting the peak.

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