Mount Pilchuck Winter Ascent

A perfect day for an ascent of Nanga Pilchuck. The snow isn't deep at all, the avalanche danger is low, the trail is easy to follow as long as you stay on the most heavily travelled tread. Less used side trails abound in many directions, leading who knows where.
We climbed up via the north slope trail, fairly easy going if you have treking poles (which I had) and yak traks or microspikes (which I didn't). There were a few slippery spots, but nothing too dangerous, and we made the last pitch up a fairly steep chute with no problem. From there it's an easier scramble through snow and boulders to the lookout.
The view was, well, Pilchuck. Sticking out 30 miles from the main massif of the Cascades, a 360 degree panorama of Western Washington unfolds before you. You can see three National Parks, from North Cascades to Olympic to Mount Rainier, and in between literally hundreds of peaks in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. In the west is a shining path of water...the Salish Sea (or Whulj or Puget Sound), the San Juan Islands, the city of Everett (where we live). Every resident of the Pugetopolis metroplex should hike here at least once, if only for the perspective.
We decided to follow the south slope route on our descent, following along the ridge to round the shoulder of Little Pilchuck until we rejoined the main trail on Mount Pilchuck's north side, because it wasn't as steep and was less icy thanks to a day in the sun.
I worry about some of the people I saw on the hike, folks with tennis shoes, cotton pants and (maybe) a kmart booksack on their backs with (maybe) 1 to 3 of the ten essentials. One father with three teen daughters, thus equipped, was heading up as we were coming down at 2:30 in the afternoon. What would happen if someone were to twist an ankle, or if they underestimated their time and were still slipping and sliding down the now icy trail at nightfall? Dad said something about not wanting to "waste all the effort we've already invested" and continued up. I hope I don't read about them in the paper tomorrow, but they weren't alone, because an alarming number of people were headed up a mountain in winter dressed for a day at Safeco Field. I'm sure most of them will be fine, but hey, sometimes shit happens, and I often feel compelled to attempt to gently dicourage them from heading into harms way. It is a compulsion I usually resist out of politeness, except in egregious cases where little kids are in tow.
For those with adequate clothing and gear, however, the weather right now is perfect for Pilchuck.