I took the Switchback Trail up to Klahhane Ridge today. I went about 2.5 miles, so not quite to the highpoint on the ridge, but to the highpoint before it, where I stopped for a snack. The weather was taking a turn for the worse, with snow starting in earnest and clouds rolling in, so I turned around there.
The snow cover on the trail starts quickly after the trailhead and is intermittent for much of the way, but enough of the trail is covered, and the snow is slippery enough, that I'd recommend putting on your spikes from the get-go. The two people I saw without spikes were struggling and turning around early, and one poor young man took a wipeout in front of me. That said, there's a bootpack to follow, so navigation was easy, although, as mentioned, it was snowing enough to cover somewhat my ascending footprints by the time of my descent.
There's more snow up on the ridge, but overall, the snowpack seemed, to me, depressingly low for this time of year. I never sunk in, so there was no need for snowshoes.
Look out for cornices up top (and please don't cut the switchbacks!).
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