Quick report
The morning started (bit after 7am) with a dense fog from Marble Mountain trailhead until we broke treeline. The socked in air made it feel warm, but it wasn’t wet which was a pleasant surprise. The snow was also surprisingly firm— I thought it would be softer based on how warm the morning felt but it was pretty crusty/hard. When we got above Chocolate Falls (8:30am), the sun briefly broke out and we could see patches of blue sky and enjoyed a view of Helens before the clouds returned in full force. The snow was very firm and icy and ski crampons made a big difference. The heavy clouds/white out conditions made for very poor visibility and was vertigo inducing. We continued up to the weather station. Near the weather station, there was a inch or so of dust on crust. Around 10:30, winds became much stronger and it began to snow heavier. Visibility was very poor so we decided to head back down. The first few turns in the light dusting of fresh snow were actually really nice! Lower down, the snow was much heavier and more tiring. We had to walk a bit at the beginning/end because the snow didn’t go all the way to the trailhead (I did earn a new scratch on my skis trying to push it) :( We saw old wet avalanche debris but didn’t witness any signs of instability