It was a challenge as by late morning it was snowing rather heavily with winds of 50+ MPH, and 70+ at the summit. The weather conditions made for a true adventure. The new snow and drifts made route finding pretty difficult. Above the treeline, there are white wooden poles along the trail, which are helpful, but they are usually spaced too far apart. With the snowfall, I would HIGHLY recommend crampons. I had mini-spikes which worked well on the compacted snow in the early morning, but were virtually useless when several inches of new snow fell. Further, my hard shell rain jacket (Columbia) and pants were true lifesavers. They worked spectacularly to keep me dry and block the wind.