Don't underestimate the wind-chill! I could handle the snow and even the wind, but I was not prepared for the -20degF windchill (per mountain-forecast.com) even though I wore several thermal layers and mitts. Our buffs, our only wind protection for our face, froze solid; I don't know which was worse - the ice chips in the incessant >45mph winds stinging my exposed skin or the solid icy buff "protecting" my face while impairing my breathing at 13,000 ft. Anyway, needless to say, had to turn back or face (ha ha, get it?) frost-bite. Broke trail the entire way - hopefully the people that played safely in the trees below us appreciated my hard work! Snowshoes were great, but probably not necessary since the temps were below freezing most of the time. My traction-less partner only slipped on ice once (that I saw), without even falling, but he sure did sink in a few postholes (not even one complaint so it must not have been too bad)  Some of the snow on the trail in the trees was already melting so we could see the dirt trail. Without new snow, my guess is the trail will be easy to follow through the trees. Great snowpack up the ridge and over through Devil's Playground. Photos attached of trail snow on our descent and me with freezer-burned face (image 1), view of partial summit, highway with snow blowing across it, Devil's Playground hidden in blowing snow - this wind only got worse as we got closer to the summit (image 2), and image of trail in the trees with icecycle hanging off rocks (image 3), my climbing partner relieved to be out of the wind (image 4).
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