Below are some tips to make the Quest easier for you, as well as a thorough guide on how you can complete the Quest.
Beginning the Quest
You can begin the Quest pretty early on because the NPC that gives this quest is in the Adventurer Camp. This camp is just outside the Dragonspine. If you try to climb up the mountain, your character will find the strong currents blocking off your path. You will need to go back to the Adventurer Camp and look for clues.
Ask Iris for Clues
In the Adventurer Camp, you will find an NPC called Iris. Go ahead and talk to her and she will warn you about how Dragonspine can drop your body temperature quickly and how most Adventurers became careless. Continue the conversation until you can ask her about the strong currents in the cavern. Iris will tell you that there are Strange Plants around the map. She will tell you the three locations you need to investigate.
Head to the Summit
The next step is finding a way into the Summit. Once you climb all the way up the mountain, you will find a giant frozen pillar. A cutscene will happen and you need to thaw the Strange Ice around the Map.
Thaw the 1st Strange Ice
The first Strange Ice is near the Snow-covered Path indicated on the map above. If you try to attack the Strange Ice on its own, you will not be able to damage it. You need to destroy the Scarlet Quartz around the area to damage the Strange Ice. There are four Scarlet Quartz in the area, if you miss one Quartz, they will respawn so do not worry.
1st Scarlet Quartz
The 1st Scarlet Quartz is in front of the Strange Ice. Destroy the Scarlet Quartz and interact with it. You will notice a red crystal circling you. You need to attack the Ice before the Red Crystal disappears. You can only damage the Ice once when you have the Red Crystal around you. If the Red Crystal disappears, you will need to destroy the Scarlet Quartz again.
2nd Scarlet Quartz
The second Scarlet Quartz is on the right side of the Strange Ice. Once again, destroy the Scarlet Quartz and interact with it. While the Red Crystal is circling your character, go back to the Strange Ice and attack it to damage it once again.
3rd Scarlet Quartz
The third Scarlet Quartz is located behind the Strange Ice. Circle around the Strange Ice and you will see some enemies here. You can defeat them first or just run away after you destroy and interact with the Scarlet Quartz. After destroying the Scarlet Quartz, circle back to the Strange Ice to attack it for the third time.
4th Scarlet Quartz
The last Scarlet Quartz is up the hill indicated in the photo above. Enemies are surrounding the Scarlet Quartz so be careful and take them out first before destroying the Scarlet Quartz. After interacting with the Scarlet Quartz, fly back to the Strange Ice to attack it for the last time. Interact with the Strange Ice to thaw it. You can also do this step first before going up the mountain and talking to Iris. If you have not tried to encounter the strong currents yet, you may do that now. Afterward, go to Iris and she will give you the other locations for the Strange Ice.
Thaw the 2nd Strange Ice
This area is challenging for most people because this Ice is protected by a force field. Go to the location on the map and you will see a Force Field puzzle. You need to activate the challenge and defeat the enemies to destroy the force field surrounding the Ice before the timer runs out.
1st Scarlet Quartz
After defeating all the enemies, you can find the first Scarlet Quartz near the Strange Ice as indicated in the photo above. Destroy the Scarlet Quartz and interact with it. Avoid being frozen because the Red Crystal only lasts for 30 seconds before it disappears. Attack the Strange Ice to damage it once.
2nd Scarlet Quartz
The Second Scarlet Quartz is near the first one. You can find the Scarlet Quartz by one of the statues. Destroy the Scarlet Crystal just like the first one and go back to the Strange Ice to attack it for the second time.
3rd Scarlet Quartz
The third Scarlet Quartz is behind the second Scarlet Quartz. You will see a path going to the back. Hit the torch with a fire character to keep your character warm and avoid freezing. Enemies will spawn by the torch so light the torch first before trying to defeat them. Go to the path furthest from the torch and you will see the Scarlet Quartz and a fire spirit. Break the Scarlet Quartz and lead the Fire spirit back home at the same time. You can now attack the Strange Ice for the third time.
4th Scarlet Quartz
The last Scarlet Quartz is by the fallen rocks near the torch. Break the rocks and you will find another fire spirit alongside the last Scarlet Quartz. Break the last Scarlet Quartz, interact with it and escort the fire spirit back home as well. Attack the Strange Ice for the last time and you can finally interact with it to thaw the Second Strange Ice.
Thaw the 3rd Strange Ice
For the 3rd Strange Ice, you need a Cryo character such as Kaeya or Chongyun. Start the challenge and you will notice the fire spirit moving across the pillars. The fire spirit will give you the correct sequence you need to follow. After the fire spirit finishes the sequence, use your Cryo character to activate the pillars in the correct order. A chest will appear and it will give rewards and Primogems. However, a Ruin Grader will appear after opening the chest. Defeat the Ruin Grader and the platform of ice will fall below to open up a new area.
1st Scarlet Quartz
This area is not as challenging as the last one. The first Scarlet Quartz is just in front of the Strange Ice. Break the Scarlet Quartz and collect it. Go back to the Strange Ice and attack it once.
2nd Scarlet Quartz
The second Scarlet Quartz is on the right of the Strange Ice. You will also find a torch you can lit to prevent your character from freezing. Break the Scarlet Quartz once again, collect the ore and attack the Strange Ice. You can also find a Fire Spirit on top of the rock near the Strange Ice, you can escort this fire spirit to its home if you like.
3rd Scarlet Quartz
The third Scarlet Quartz is behind the Strange Ice. As usual, break the Quartz and go back to the Strange Ice to attack it for the third time. You can also save a fire spirit on the way by going just a little further north. You will find an Ancient Carving and just before the wall, a boulder will fall on you. The fire spirit will appear on top of the rock, there is another fire spirit just beside the fallen rock on the hill. Escort the two of them home and you can prevent yourself from freezing.
4th Scarlet Quartz
After getting the three ores, the metal cage doors will open up and you can find two chests inside. One of them contains the Record of Serial No. Hu-42318. The last Scarlet Quartz is in this area, break it and go back to the Strange Ice to attack it for the last time. After breaking the crystal, thaw the ice and go to the Entombed City waypoint.
Thaw it all again
Once you teleport on the Entombed City waypoint, you can finally climb all the way to the top of the mountain. The strong current is gone and you can explore the Skyfrost Nail. There are multiple enemies in this area and you should clear them first before thawing the Strange Ice so they cannot interrupt you.
1st Scarlet Quartz
You will find that the first Scarlet Quartz is just beside the Ruin Guard. Break the Scarlet Quartz and you will notice that the Strange Ice is floating in the air. Climb the broken pillar and hop over the floating stones to get to the Strange Ice. Be careful since you only have a few seconds before the Scarlet Quartz disappears. Attack the Strange Ice and the platform you are standing on will move.
2nd Scarlet Quartz
After breaking the first Strange Ice, you will need to go all the way to the top once again. You will find the second Scarlet Quartz on the map as indicated in the picture. There are enemies here that you have to defeat first. Light the torches in the area to keep yourself warm. You will also find a Fire spirit here that can help you with your ventures. After breaking the Scarlet Quartz, go down the path and you will see floating platforms you can jump on, just like last time.
3rd Scarlet Quartz
For the third Scarlet Quartz, you need an Anemo character. If you could not run back to the platforms, you need to climb back up to the mountain on the left. You will see an anemo pillar that is not yet activated. Use your Anemo character to activate the Anemo pillar and use the wind to fly through the gap between the mountains. At the end of the current, you will see enemies, a locked chest, and the last Scarlet Quartz. You can defeat the enemies to open up the locked chest. Break the last Scarlet Quartz and collect the ore. Drop down the mountain carefully to hit the Strange Ice for the last time. Thaw the Strange Ice and the pillar will become whole once again.
Investigate the area below
After repairing the pillar, the area below will open up and reveal a domain. You can activate the Domain and open the Luxurious Chest in front of the domain. There are five chests in this area so be sure to open them before completing the quest. To complete the quest, go back to the Adventurer’s Camp in front of the Dragonspine and talk to Iris. Completing the Quest will give you 60 Primogems.
Summary
The ‘In the Mountains’ Quest in Genshin Impact is one of the most challenging side quests in the recent update. The questline can be lengthy and you need to thaw the Strange Ice all around Dragonspine. Your characters can freeze because of the weather so make sure to activate the torches and help the Fire Spirits to keep your body temperature warm. Even though the quest is lengthy, this sidequest is needed to stop the strong currents blocking you from climbing the mountain. This quest also rewards you with multiple chests and 60 Primogems.
