Map check to get my bearings before we lose sight of everything.
Finally some exposed land. Before this we got to a section where there was a set of boot prints going across a fairly flat basin and another set that went up higher. I knew we would have to go up and over a rise eventually so going down to the bottom of the basin would mean having to go back up at the other end. The other track would stay fairly level but be on the side of a moderately steep slope. I wanted to go low rather than side step for 20 or 30 minutes across the slope. Against better judgment I went with majority rules. About halfway across Kyle slipped but caught himself and only slid a few feet. Ryan planted his trekking pole and before I could say "don't do that" reached out to Kyle, pulled, and immediately slipped. Fortunately his half buried trekking pole held long enough for him to regain footing but wound up snapping before he was firmly planted again. Not a good place to be down a trekking pole. You can see what was left of it by Gina's left hand. It actually worked well as a mini-ice axe in this condition.
