Had a great day on the mountain with Lance last Saturday. Ran into Z-dude in the boarding area, who proceeded to astonish other hikers by jogging away from the ranger station in snowshoes after obtaining his permit
Headed up Sid Davis and into Tamarack -- Lance wanted to get a picture of me in the snow buried outhouse but I demured 
While climbing out of Tamarack towards the Miller Saddle, Z-dude jogged up to us. He'd been taken in by the left fork in the drainage that takes people over to Round Valley (same mistake I made with Sally last Sunday). We were shortly completely envloped in clouds/fog as we headed up towards Miller Saddle. Visiblity got progressively worse as we ascended to the peak. There was at least 3 inches of new snow and we broke trail all the way up the ridge.
Z-dude kept us company to the summit. It was erie being on top in a complete white out. Lance and I made our way to the hut for lunch while Z jogged down to stay warm. The only way I could tell we were back at the Miller Saddle was the increase in the steepness of our descent. It was easy to see how people can get lost in a white out. We ran into numerous people on their way up who asked how much further they had to go. Had a nice trip back until the concrete switchbacks (can't believe how much that ramp hurts) and completed a perfect day with a fabulous meal at Las Casuelas.
Look forward to seeing how much new snow has fallen on San J when team Artic Wolf heads out again this weekend.
Miles of smiles,
Ellen
