Lucky Penny Day: Muir Snowfield

Lost and found seems to be a running theme on this forum lately, so I'll just keep it rolling...
Found: Lucky penny just before leaving the parking lot, ski pole basket, water bottle, backcountry condom constructed of ziploc bag and duct tape (don't ask but it got a good laugh), mariners ball cap, sunbreaks, black clouds, thunder clouds, snow, dense fog, sucker holes and blue skies...

Knowing that the weather was iffy and two of three partners for the day had already officially called things off or headed another direction, I only reluctantly responded to the AM alarm, utilizing snooze to it's fullest potential until I received the text: Still going?
Out of bed in an instant, the morning routine took on a whole new sense of urgency to get everybody out the door to their respective daily destinations and myself to the mountain. While urgent didn't get us there all that early after all, timing is everything and Ed and I seemed to have it today. (Something I attribute to the lucky penny found in the parking lot. :))
Left the Paradise parking lot at 11:15 with patches of blue skies, rays of sun and passing clouds all overhead. The upper mountain was completely engulfed in whiteout and more than once we turned our backs to the enticing Tatoosh recalling yesterday's report of fine conditions in that area. Whether it's a sickness, insanity or something to be admired, I don't know, but Ed and I still especially enjoy the aerobic, high altitude, "slog" up Muir and couldn't resist giving it another run. I think we did well.
Weather was variable throughout the day giving as a wintry/summery mix of everything. It is amazing how one moment you wish you were in shorts and a tee, the next you are reaching for the down puffy... between 8500 and 9000 the clouds became very thick and hard, chunky snow began falling. People started turning around almost immediately and one man warned us that it was snowing. Ten minutes later, the pea soup dissipated somewhat and we caught a glimpse of Muir. An hour later at 3PM, we arrived at the shelter to claps of thunder reverberating through the very still air. Ten minutes at Muir revealed the Tatoosh range... another 30 and the summit was in full view. As the clouds broke apart, we began our descent down the trampled snowfield marked by dips and divots of suncups, boot pack and postholing. The terrain we skied definitely required gumby legs and thighs of steel to stay upright, but I was more than pleased to make a consistent line of linked turns through the easily carvable cattle path. Ed, too, was enjoying his demoed BD teleboots which he gave a definite thumbs up rating. About 1500 feet down the mountain we paused to the tremendous sound of rock fall as the summit, basking in sunlight now, warmed enough to release a shower of debris. It was incredible to watch even from a distance.
We definitely did not earn the "clever routefinding" award for the day as the ascent required several carry overs, the first being Pan Point and the last being at about 7500 ft... but the descent was better accomplished requiring only two carryovers and a little bit of grass schussing on Pan Point to make it back to the parking lot, skis still on snow concluding our lucky penny day...