More sad news from Baldy's Devil’s Backbone. This makes three hikers who have fallen to their death in less than a month. The report says this hiker and the two he was hiking with were all wearing crampons. No mention of ice axes.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-hiker-dies-near-mt-baldy-20160221-story.html
In my opinion, if the conditions demand crampons, crampons demand an ice ax. Let's all be safe out there.
Ken