Cresting the ridge was a bit disheartening, I thought we'd be well past the DWA property but instead we were just even with it. At about 4000ft we began traversing along the ridge towards snow creek proper. The ridge offers great views of Falls Creek and the plateau with the "normal" snow creek approach. Staying high on the traverse runs you through some mild 3rd class scrambling and a bit of bushwhacking (which chews up time) before crossing Falls Creek and putting you back on the normal route. Half of our party opted to descend into the Falls Creek drainage and back up onto the plateau (not sure which is easier).
We reached the bivy site around 1100 and took a nice looooong lunch. Gearing up, we headed onto the snow tongue to assess the chockstone snowbridge and (possibly) the 5th class alternative. The bridge was in lousy shape with fractures and sagging snow beneath it... not to mention a good 40-50 foot drop below. The 5th class was less than half its normal height but to get to it involved jumping across a gap between the snow and rock. That left us with the 3rd class bypass. Hopping off the bypass we were finally standing upon Snow Creek! Donning our crampons and ice axes we eagerly started up the route.
The snow was PERFECT. Steve and Fern's avalanche left a well groomed path to ascend
I don't remember the times for each split but we steadily worked our way up perfect chute after perfect chute of snow. It was sublime. Our route led us to a direct finish atop the summit block. I felt euphoric after cresting... it was an amazing day. I was on the summit at 1840... over 14 hours since we started. On the descent to the tramway I finally hit the proverbial wall. Leg cramps and nausea made for slow going but arrived in time for the next to last tram ride 
No overnight bathroom bivy for me! My thanks to Steve, Fernando, Tina, Miguel and Chris for sharing this adventure with me. You guys are AWESOME!
I think this new "legal" route raises the stakes on an already challenging route. Splitting the climb into 2 days would definitely make for a less intense experience although adding to the weight one would have to carry on the entire route. I guess it all comes down to how bad you want it
