Started out early and arrived at The Basin parking at 7am. Got going at 7:17 and used gaiaGPS recorded track to locate the trail up from path. However, the sticks were gone, so I'm glad I knew where to turn off the path. Even so, I got off the path until I looked again at the previous track. There was a dusting of snow, say only an inch. Snow got a little deeper on the ascent, but was never a factor; I wore spikes all the way. I also wore my new Oboz winter boots; they were comfortable, but I have to tape my heels lower. With the wind even at low elevations, I abandoned the Flume Slide and went up to Mt Liberty. I met two overnighters coming down and a single guy caught up to me at the Franconia Ridge junction. He was trying both Flume and the Franconia Ridge to Mt. Lafayette, then down OBP and back along the road. Although there was little snow, the wind was increasing and the temperature dropping. After Mt Liberty, I also abandoned going over to Mt Flume and just came back. Total was 5:45 with about the same speed up and down. When I reached the car, the temperature had dropped to 18 deg F---much lower on top I think.