There is paved road all the way to the trailhead.
The trail to the lookout was basically snow-free up to the cutoff to Monogram Lake. I didn't start to encounter snow until about 4,200 feet. I was able to make it to the lookout with poles and microspikes. I brought snowshoes and an ice axe, but didn't use either of them.
Past the cutoff to Monogram Lake, the snow was fairly constant and reached a maximum depth of about 3 feet at the lookout.
There is a part of the trail where you enter a meadow and traverse along the side of an open slope that looks to be about 40 to 45 degrees. The snow was only about 3 inches deep when I was there (October 31st), but when there's more snow this part of the route will be a serious avalanche hazard. I wouldn't recommend waiting much longer to do this hike.
The route through the snow was fairly well tromped down by people who had hiked before me, so route finding wasn't a problem.
There is a part of the trail where you enter a meadow and traverse along the side of an open slope that looks to be about 40 to 45 degrees. The snow was only about 3 inches deep when I was there (October 31st), but when there's more snow this part of the route will be a serious avalanche hazard. I wouldn't recommend waiting much longer to do this hike.
The route through the snow was fairly well tromped down by people who had hiked before me, so route finding wasn't a problem.
The trail is consistently steep all the way to the top, but it's in good shape. The hike took me about 7 hours car-to-car (including the hour that I spent relaxing, eating lunch, and taking pictures up at the lookout).
The view from the lookout is amazing. You get a great 360 degree view. I could see Mt. Baker, Mt. Shuksan, Glacier Peak, a bunch of other peaks in the North Cascades, and I could see all the way out to the Olympic Mountains. It was gorgeous up there.
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