April 17, 2010, Mt St Helens

Access: FS 83 to Marble Mountain SnoPark is open but snow on road  prevents low clearance vehicles from getting up the last 1 to 2 miles. A rear wheel 12-passenger van without chains also parked at that point. The road to Climbers Bivouac is not open.
Snow is continuous from Marble Mountain all the way. West side cornices on gullies and some recent debris from west sides. Soft conditions, corn on the way down in and under clouds. One traverse on a slope down fairly low on the descent had us sending down rollers readily.
Our group of 9 departed at 5:20, had a clear view of the summit from top end of ski trail 244 with a rosy dawn. Clear skies during the night were now cloudy overhead. Soft snow, harder above 5,000 feet with little ski penetration but plenty of random boot penetration for our one boarder. Then the cloud bank moved in from the west and we were in it good above 6,000 ft with a brief graupel shower then white out conditions and west wind. We stopped at ~7K and decided a 4K descent would be better than summitting in the fog and maybe rain later. Corn snow by then was fine for skiing, but vertigo inducing whiteout made it unnerving for me. Nice glide out through the forest and back to the cars by noon.