I thought the same until I finally did it southbound one February. Leaving Barrel Spring at sunrise, we hiked up an easy 5 miles with about 2 inches of soft snow on the trail. At the top the snow cleared, and we had a nice jaunt down to Scissors, watching thunderstorms gather over Granite Peak. The only frustrating part was the winding in and out of the gullied at the south end. AsABat