First of all, they have to do the 2.2 mile road walk down Mount Clinton Road to even get to the trailhead because the gate is closed. If they are down for the roadwalk, Edmands Path is generally okay to about 3500 feet then it gets really steep for about 800 feet. Once you reach 4200 feet you walk along a tilted path along the back of the mountain before ascending, that section is prone to windblown snow so snowshoes will be needed. From there you take the final climb above treeline. That climb has at least 5 or 6 right angle turns that rookies can easily miss when climbing. So yeah, it's a situation for experienced hikers, forget about a newbie. If there is unbroken trail covered by snow and they dont have snowshoes they are in for a slow climb. If there is limited visibility it gets even trickier. Also - bailing out or even doing an up and down via Edmands would suck because then you still have that 2.2 mile road walk back to the car. Anyone doing this hike is generally looping back to Pierce and back to the car because it is just dumb to go back down Eisenhower because it adds more distance.

My advice would be to tell them to do Pierce instead. Good hike for newbies - head up crawford path, stay left at the split and shake down their equipment. Save Edmands Path for when they have more experience.