The good thing about learning winter hiking in the Whites is that there are all different levels of hiking available all in the same area, and you can safely progress from the simplest to the more challenging as you learn and/or buy gear.
My suspicion is that there will still be time to do this hike this fall before anything gets dangerous or even technical. The counterpoint to all that open slab is that when the sun hits it, it gets really warm really fast, and ice & snow will melt or not stick up there. Down in the trees, you might hit icy patches that call for stabilicers, but you could come out up top and find yourself in the clear. On a good weather day, I mean.
