You saw different snow than I did this year. I had friends on San Gorgonio's northern slopes, who got a big case of pucker because the ice was impenetrable at top of the slopes. Most of the snow on the slopes was crunchy hard in the morning.
I had snowshoes out the first day and the following week because I was teaching people how winter mountain safety...the were not needed the second weekend.
It sounds as if you snowshoed rather than climbed with crampons and axe.
