The pictures will tell it all:
For the whole experience:
It all started so fantastic as Stumbles and Duece Untimely departed the Main Trail for high altitude bliss. We had read the weather reports and were expecting a chance of 1-2 inches of snow on Saturday night and we were prepared. The beginning of the trail was uneventful and not too difficult to navigate. My highly scientific method of following the deepest foot prints and "i" carvings worked wonderfully. Though we brought both microspikes and crampons, we only needed the microspikes for as far as we got (more about this later). We had the GPS on and tracking on our way up.
Our first night at Outpost Camp (Friday) was a BIT breezy. Many who attempted to go all the way to Trail Camp came back to Outpost Camp reporting that they had to crawl above Mirror Lake the winds were so strong. Many more came back through with altitude sickness. The gail force winds brought below freezing temperatures. We recorded 22 degress in our tent. The next morning I went to get water for coffee and the nalgene cantene had frozen shut by the time I walked back to camp. NICE. Our camelbak hoses had also frozen shut and were completely useless for the rest of the trip. If anyone has any advice on keeping water thawed while hiking, I welcome it freely.
Saturday morning we loaded up and hiked up to Trail Camp at a leisurly pace. Most of the hike was on snow fields, but the microspikes were still sufficient. Met some great people along the way and didn't have too hard of a time wayfinding. (For the record, we did bring the map). Since there was no water at trail camp, we spent what seemed like an hour melting snow to refill our camelbaks and nalgene bottles and make dinner. We anchored our tent with 8 boulders as large as we could carry in preparation for the winds and "50% chance of 1-2 inches of snow". Trying to be smart, we slept with our camelbak bladders to keep them thawed. When we woke up in the morning, it was 17 degrees inside of our tent and there was 8" of fresh powder on the ground and it was still coming down hard. We decided that if the storm didn't clear by the time we finished breakfast and packed up, we would leave. Well, by that time, there were 4 more inches of snow on the ground (for a total of now 12" of fresh poweder) and it was still coming down. Not wanting to kick new trail through two feet of fresh powder, we decided to head down. By the time we got our bags loaded up and our popsicle tent packed, out camelbaks had frozen again so we had no water (@#%$%%@!). My goggles had fogged up then crystalled over so I couldn't see anything; I had to take them off. The snow was coming in sideways and coming down hard. It is at this point when my husband earns his trail name (Duece Untimely). I couldn't think of a more opportune time to need to use the restroom myself. Poor guy!
Visibility was very low, but we had memorized reference features. When the snow had completely buried our visual waypoints, we pulled out the GPS and followed our tracks from the day before. (The map would have blown away, and topo lines do nothing for you when everything is solid white). My eyeballs were freezing, but we managed to stumble/glissade down the mountain rather quickly. We found water at the stream coming out of Mirror Lake (hallelujah!!). After we left Mirror Lake, we encountered a gentleman that had just spent his 60th birthday summiting MTW, then sleeping in his clothing only under a rock all night because he lost the trail on the way down. After all that, he was still in good shape. I was impressed! The trail below Outpost Camp was every man for himself but we made it down without incident.
We thought we were the only ones up at Trail Camp that night, but when we dumped our packs and stepped inside of the Portal Store, we found another group of four who had also camped up there and came down today, and a solo thru-hiker that had camped in the vacinity of Trail Camp as well, that had also come down.
Naturally, we refueled with a burger, fries, and beer at the portal store, swapping stories with Doug and our fellow storm-campers. We get to head back up in three weeks with a bigger group and I have a feeling the conditions will be the same. Our first year, we were hailed out a mile from the summit. Hopefully, we will get a window of nice weather next time. Third try is a charm?
At about 4am I took it out and put it above my head in the tent. Finally got a little good sleep. 
I'm thinking I will just empty the bladder into a bottle before bed, put that at the foot of my sleeping bag and hope for the best.
