2022-02-20 Qornayil - Kfarselwan Snowshoeing

This was supposed to be a nice outing; especially with interspersed sunny skies and temperature in the low teens.
I have done mount Kneisseh many times in the summer, fall, winter, and spring. This time the plan was to climb it from the town of Qornayel side.
The trail started from the side of the main road through a rock garden with a mild uphill going through apple orchards with tree trunks buried in snow and surrounded by snow covered pine forests on both sides. two kilometers into the trek, and once we climbed beyond the Kfarselwan ponds, we were greeted by north-face snow, thick fog, and a steep uphill - the decision was made to plow through in the hope that fog will give way to the needed sun to thaw snow and make it favorable to pass through. After slowly inching up and no sun we were able to make it to within 50 meters to reach the top. Suddenly one of our group slipped and started falling on a steep snow-covered slope with momentum only seen in movies (thank God, he survived with only bruises and scratches).
A decision was made to turn around and go back.
This trail is doable if you start the trail around 10:00 AM and no fog. By the time you reach the steep slow, the sun would have thawed the snow and made navigating through it easier.
I learned my many lessons on this trail:
1- always follow a recorded well cited trail
2- respect the mountains and listen to its warning
3- DON'T be a hero.
4- bring with you snow/ice pickax
I am ranking this trail as Experts Only.