Started the trail at 10:30, at the junction of the bellows pipe / thunderbolt road trails. There was about 6-12 inches of snow on the trail, definitely a snow shoe kind of day, but I didn’t have any. I was the first person to go up thunderbolt trail since the snow and it was pretty poorly marked, which resulted in a lot of confusion as to whether I was on the trail or not, but I had a gps to keep me on track. It was a hard climb, the thunderbolt trail that is assigned as route up, is meant to be an expert level down hill ski trail, and there is another, much flatter trail that you’re supposed to take up to the top. But that trail was 1.8 miles, while thunderbolt was 0.6. No brainer right!? It was 0.6 miles of uphill hell. I’m used to the steep rock trails in the white mountains, but ski trails are something else. the total lack of switchbacks and deep snow made every step sink back a few inches, inches that would have to be reclimbed. It was an exhausting 2.5 hours but when I got to the top, there was a cool old ski shelter to get out of the cold. It was a stone cabin with benches and wood stoves, and made for a great spot to stop for some tea, and dry my gear before the climb down. The climb down was easy, the AT and Gould trail were far better marked and the grade was much more manageable. Made it down in 2 hours. Overall a fun and rewarding climb.