It’s an integral part of the job, Sole explains. Conditions on a mountain aren’t the same day to day, and they shift across the season.
Those are the rhythms he’s grown used to. Early in the season, there’s a lot of snow and corniced ridges. This eventually melts away so that same climb is on rock instead of powder.
“It’s a living thing, in a sense,” he said.
Throughout his career, Sole watched those seasons evolve. He learned to plan for more variability — for the glacier to look a lot different from one season to the next, to start a season with less snow than normal, and to melt sooner.
In some places, he said, those changes make climbs easier, while in others, things get more dangerous.
“There’s always been climate change. It’s accelerating. It’s very fast now and we really need to concentrate on how we’re going to adapt,” Sole said. “There’s no point crying over what you can’t change, but just buckle down.”
