My original plan was to ascend Lightening Ridge and traverse to Volcano Peaks. Strong wind, knee-deep wet snow at the treeline, and a late start due to a downed tree on the access road didn't make my plan feasible so I switched attention to a more realistic objective.

Brutal wind with gusts of well over 100km/h added some spice to the ascent. It was hard to walk and even hard to breathe. Due to the wind, I avoided the final scrambling section near the summit (which looked more like a mountaineering objective with the wind hardened snow) and chose a hiker's bypass. It is Class 1 (a hike) in the ideal conditions.