(But, to be fair to the drawstring closure, my partner Ian, a veteran alpinist of several decades, called it "the snowiest day of mixed climbing" he'd ever been part of.) I regretted this decision a few hours later, when wave after wave of spindrift pummeled us from above, and resolved right then to always bring the lid when climbing in gullies. In an effort to further save weight-at 2.2lbs/979g the pack is already weighted in your favor-I'd removed the Prism's lid, thinking the dual drawstring closure would repel any invasive snow. It did require a large rack of rock gear, twin ropes, deep-winter apparel (-8degF), and a stove, and the Prism humped it all up the Bugs' notoriously steep approach trail with comfort and support. Our objective was a handsome gash on the North Face of Pigeon Spire a plumb line with little route-finding required. The Prism was a worthy pack last October in the Bugaboos, when I bid shirtless sport climbing adieu and hiked into a snowy maelstrom to mixed climb. I've found it to excel in particularly snowy and cold environments for three main reasons: 1) it has a clever ice-tool carry system that doesn't require you to lash the head of your tool to the pack (it slips into a diamond-shaped pocket instead) 2) it is damn near fully waterproof 3) it has a fixed crampon pouch, which feels a bit indulgent while alpine-rock climbing. The Prism is a 40-liter alpine-climbing pack intended for one- to four-day missions.
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