Do not underestimate the deleterious effects of thin air on health and performance. Remember this when climbing with new partners. You know you've gotten around some when you can say you've seen almost all the symptoms in others, and know how you yourself react. One of the joys of solo climbing has to be in not having to worry about others and being able to concentrate fully on oneself. In this regard, doing a climb solo can make it easier and safer.
Ridge routes are especially notorious for a lack of drinking fountains.
If you have to resort to digging in a snowbank, definitely sample from the lower layers out in the middle if at all possible. It's important to conserve energy while making good time on these stretches. Standard mountaineering technique is to coordinate ones breathing rate with ones striding while maintaining a comfortable and sustainable exertion level. Others may do better with other parameters. The worst technique is to spurt ahead several steps before being forced to stop to catch your breath for ten seconds before spurting on a little farther, etc.