The mountaintops region can be quite brutal with its frost buildup, but there's a solid approach to handling it. When you first arrive make sure to grab the zamor set near the ancient snow valley ruins - the timing on getting this is crucial since it'll massively boost your frost defense right away. Your main defense comes from maintaining good robustness, and interestingly enough, pumping endurance actually increases this stat naturally. Keep an eye out for the stalwart horn charm in the consecrated snowfields, as its placement near some dangerous enemies makes it tricky but essential to grab.

For active management watch the frost meter carefully and pop a thawfrost bolus the moment it hits about 75% - crafting these beforehand is absolutely crucial since vendors rarely stock enough. The flame cleanse me incantation becomes your best friend here, just remember there's a brief animation lock when casting so position yourself safely first. Speaking of positioning, staying close to rocky outcrops gives you emergency cover from those nasty frost-breathing enemies that love to spam their attacks from range.

Good to know: fire damage instantly resets the frost buildup, so keeping a backup fire weapon ready lets you quickly clear the status effect and reset for another frost damage cycle if you're using that strategy offensively. The invigorating white cured meat buff window is exactly 60 seconds, so time those consumables carefully when approaching known tough spots.