Pete and I just got back from approaching Colonial. Hiked in yesterday. The snow was unconsolidated low and conditions were deteriorating the higher we got. I hate to think what conditions on the face are like. We bivyed in the basin and then headed out this morning. Another party (with Oregon plates) came in sometime in the middle of the night and when we left the basin at 9:00 this morning they had a loooong ways to go to get to the start of the climbing.
Edited to add the story where we almost died: So we were driving down I-5 North of Seattle, just cruising along. All of a sudden out of nowhere this hatchback locks up its breaks and come skidding sideways into our lane. I shit you not the thing was doing 70mph going down the highway, sideways right in front of us. It was one of the more fucked up things I've ever seen. Pete had a brilliant piece of driving there. We didn't even leave our lane. How it didn't roll over I have no idea. How we managed not to hit it I have no idea. So the car came to a stop in the left hand lane, without getting hit and without hitting the median barrier. It was pure luck.