The people that were going on those weekends didn't have any winter gear.
One of the times I did it last year, it started raining at Dry Falls. By the time we reached the Traverse, it was snowing and there was a 1/2 inch of snow on the ground. Without gear, the trail was very slick. I was happy that I had my trekking poles. There are only a couple of spots that may be sketchy, but people have fallen or needed to be rescued (as you state above).
When we started the hike:
When we finished:
