Very few people here use the snowshoes for the steep parts. Perhaps a factor is cost and one more piece of gear. The %500+ pair of boots and almost $200 crampons ate my budget. I did mention postholing in the boulder fields but I don't think I would have felt comfortable with snowshoes either in the boulder field or the area such as my second picture posted above. There wasn't quite enough snow to have universal coverage and there was some climbing involved in the rocks that couldn't be done with snow shoes.
This was also my very first trip using crampons instead of just Katoohla microspikes. And only the 3rd time I've used the new La Sportiva Nepal EVO boots. Unfortunately each time I've used them I keep getting bad blisters but I am working through the tightness and in fairness did no work trying to break them in. I'm afraid they are a tad too big but I'm experimenting with different and multiple socks. Any suggestions welcome!
And as far as Flattop: Someone asked me how dangerous this trip was. The question came from someone who has done Flattop with me in the winter so my answer was: Flattop is just as dangerous. Although Flattop has quite the reputation for crowds in the summer, in winter it is a daunting hike with the final steep chute being quite dangerous--especially if snow cover is low like it is this year. And in high snow years the Flattop approach also has a bad avalanche chute that must be avoided by a hike around.
One final word about gear from the third picture: I LOVE that green ice axe. I'm still a newbie but I can't imagine hiking October - April/May without it. I suppose a rock climber could say the same about his ropes but the ice axe literally saved my life about 4 times on Sunday.
