  Cluster number counts offer sensitive probes of the dark energy if and only
if the_evolution_ of the cluster mass versus observable relation(s) is well
calibrated. We investigate the potential for internal calibration by demanding
consistency in the counts as a function of the observable. In the context of a
constant dark energy equation of state, known initial fluctuation amplitude
expected from the CMB, universal underlying mass function, and an idealized
selection, we find that the ambiguity from the normalization of the
mass-observable relationships, or an extrapolation of external mass-observable
determinations from higher masses, can be largely eliminated with a
sufficiently deep survey, even allowing for an arbitrary evolution. More
generally, number counts as a function of both the redshift and the observable
enable strong consistency tests on assumptions made in modelling the
mass-observable relations and cosmology.
