Day Hike - West Tiger Mountain No. 2 and No. 3

We first ascended West Tiger 2 by way of the TMT and K3 trails.  We used micorspikes the whole day.  Initiallly, the trail alternated dirt and snow, but soon we were travelling on nicely consolidated snow in a quite beautiful winter forest.  We saw no one else on the ascent, and saw the track of only a single traveler.  At the top of West Tiger 2 we broke out of the forest into fog and cold wind.  After a discussion and a  group vote, we continued a traverse to West Tiger 3 summit and had lunch in a tree-protected area just north of the high point.  We completed the loop by way of the conventional West Tiger 3 trail.  This started out as easy travel on well-consolidated snow, but around 700" above tralhead increasingly icy trail conditions required concentration to negotiate.