Thanks Atari, I did my best with the cellphone camera - left the other cam at home because my pack was already too heavy. I got the heavier 2 man tent to encourage a friend to come along, but now I think I should have grabbed a lighter bivy instead.
I would have actually preferred more snow, but more compacted in the chute ( clearly ). You rarely get the perfect conditions the whole way, I would expect. I like the multi-day trips more, personally. I feel like I look around more and appreciate where I am if I'm not head-down moving as fast as I can to get to the top and out. Also, I had hoped to do Russell as well, so the extra time would have been needed for that.
Current condition dayhike? I'd say it's doable, but you'd have to be fit and not mess around with time. I passed a group as I was coming down the chute that were going up the MR and who knows what route down as a dayhike. Not my thing, but possible. I'd guess that snow would keep most folks from getting all the way up in one day, though. You'd be exhausted. I've got a group of friends heading up the MR this weekend - I think they're shooting for a dayhike, but I'm not sure.
