Cushman - Nice shots! I'd never done Lion's Head trail before, and I have to say that it was the single scariest trail I've ever been on, an observation I'm sure you can understand. The steep bit in your photo (the 1st really steep part) was melted out to stone. With 40 lb packs w/ skis on them it was really challenging (see pic attached of said pack & my bud Jared). Without crampons it would have been impossible. I just ran the profile in my topo program; on the steepest bit the Lion's Head trail goes up about 900' in about 1/4 mile.

We hiked to just below the summit cone, then skied down over the headwall. The Sherburne ski trail was open (and getting thin). The forecast said 50% chance of rain, which kept crowds way down.

The funny thing is, I felt way better after completing the hike/ski this year than either of the other two times I've been up there (once at 22 and once last year at 31). So if you've been putting off that hike - GET OUT & DO IT!