This is the east ridge which is followed to the summit of Zuckerhutl from Pfaffensattel. It is often easy with a well established boot track, but on this day nobody had climbed it in four or five days due to the weather (and perhaps the lateness of the season as well). The old snow surface was frozen solid and hard beneath a highly variable layer of wind blown new snow that was still powder. The rocks are mostly loose as well. So it took me a lot longer than on my previous ascent in May of 2000.