Dewey Lake via the Naches Peak Loop

Attempted this hike on Sunday. There is well over 8' of snow the trail. Started out with my snow shoes, but the soft snow made traction extremely difficult. After breaking my trekking pole to arrest my fall, I decided to return next weekend with my ice ax to tackle this trail. Got around to the backside of the peak, but trans versing the side hill in the soft snow was the difficultly. The rangers advised that they heard the trail was snow free on the south side.