Oh. I'm crazy alright. Crazy about French Technique...and fries.
John, this was our Halloween 2010 trip
Recent Snow We only made it to 12,600 or so - headed straight up the switchbacks more or less, instead of zigzagging totally. We didn't get to finish, so who knows if that technique would have gotten us up. To be honest, it was probably one of the worst situations underfoot. 1 to 1.5 feet of new snow had recently fallen on either rocks or old snow/ice. You really didn't need crampons, but booting it up the steep slopes was a slippery mess - you'd step all the way through to the rocks or old ice below, and just slide slide slide. It was mostly loose scree underneath or hidden edges of small boulders to jack up your shins and knees.
My equipment situation and experience has changed a lot since then. My guess is now I wouldn't even bother heading up from Trail Camp once I saw the conditions. Going up the so-called chute would most likely have been just as much of a pain. Consolidated conditions are so much more your friend - Atari is right about the new soft snow in excess being a major bummer.
