I personally don't have hiking poles, but if the trail conditions warrant I'll use XC ski poles. XC Ski racing was my core sport in high school/college, so that's the gear I'm most comfortable with, and it works good for me in the hiking I've done. In the conditions described in this incident, I would not have been hiking in that area. I would have looked for a less snowy spot, perhaps something lower elevation.
The 48 4000'ers in NH, for what I think of as the average hiker, are a combination of everything from trail running terrain to hardcore hiking. On the trail running side are peaks like Hale and Waumbek, both well under 5 miles round trip and no severe sections. On the hardcore side are Owl's Head which is about 18.5 miles (if you stay on the official trails and don't use the bushwhacks) with a bunch of water crossings although not a ton of elevation gain, the Presidential Range which has a lot of challenging footing, and the Bonds which are pretty isolated. You really need to do your research to get the specifics about each hike in this area before you go.
