Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Current conditions on Baldy

I've never hiked Baldy in the winter.. Are the current conditions okay (assuming the wind lays down) for a hike
this Sat. Crampons/snowshoes needed?? Assuming the best
way is via the skihut route? Thanks for any thoughts!!

Rick,
Last Saturday it was warm, the snow was soft and it was easy to travel, but it has been below freezing above the Hut all week and it snowed a few inches on Sunday. Crampons are needed for sure and some hard icy spots are a possibility. Ski Hut trail is ok to the bottom of the Bowl; from there you have a few choices. If you follow the summer trail it is shaded on the steep slope and may not be the best safest option. Snowshoes are not needed.

Check with this site;

http://sangabrielmnts.myfreeforum.org/index.php


hiiker

The last post on Baldy Conditions that I find at that site is dated October 25, 2010. Maybe I don't know how to access info on that site but it has always seemed useless to me.
BurtW

The information is probably there, but since the site doesn't seem to process cookies correctly, unless I have enough time to look thru that forum thread by thread, I don't bother either.

Don't quote me, but I think I read recently that there's not much snow up to the ski hut, but covered above. I'm going up Sunday, so will take both my microspikes and crampons, so will be covered no matter what. My snowshoes will remain in the vehicle as I don't believe there's been much/any snowfall in recent weeks.

Try looking under "Trip Reports"...

http://sangabrielmnts.myfreeforum.org/forum6.php

I was up there on Sunday and the trail is mostly snow free up to the Ski Hut. I climbed up the bowl so I don't know the exact conditions of the normal "trail", but I would guess it has solid snow to the summit.

Last Saturday on "the main trail" looks like a herd passed through it

I did Baldy last Saturday. Up the east bowl, down the Devil's Backbone to the notch and then down the road. You won't need snow shoes. I don't recommend The Backbone Trail right now. Long stretches are melted out between icy sections. Crampons on. Crampons off. That got old real quick. I did experience some rockfall in the bowl and no one was climbing directly above me.

Thanks for your inputs. I'll give it a try this Sat.
Hiked above the Portal Store a couple weeks ago. First
winter hike and really enjoyed the scenary and deep silence.
Rick

Hi Rick, it was nice to meet you on Baldy this past weekend. I'm the fella from Phoenix who drove out for the day (orange Scarpa's). Hope you made the summit alright, it was plenty windy that day!

For anyone else heading down there...
Feb-5... Snow conditions were great: Firm top layer on the snow, yielding good purchase with the crampons. We ascended directly through the two strips of exposed rock in the center of the bowl and then veered off slightly to the right. We encountered a buried faceted layer on one of the SW-facing slopes in one of the chutes at the top of the bowl with about 10'' of wind-deposited snow sitting on top, so I would be mindful of the snow in some of the chutes, especially with the recent spring-like conditions. On that subject, it was incredible seeing the remnants of that recent slide and the giant "snow-boulders" that still sit at the bottom of the bowl. Regarding snowshoes, I'd save the weight and just bring the crampons -- there's just not enough of the powdery stuff. Regardless, there's some great winter climbing to be had up in there!

--Ben

Hey Ben, thanks for the update!

Any idea on the depth of the snowpack in the bowl? It looks like it's pretty well melted out from the South Bay area. The West face looks like it has snow, but the South bowl looks like dirt.

Bill

Bill, These photos are from last Saturday Feb 5th (click on them for larger views). The temps at the notch have been near or below freezing at night this week. We avoided the bottom of the bowl and followed the normal path because there was so little snow. It appeared to be melting fast.

Thanks for the pics! There's more snow up there than I thought, but still probably not worth hauling skis up the bowl. La Nina has really kicked in for So Cal.

Bill

When we went up on the 5th there was actually quite a few skiers climbin' up. Possibly good for this weekend, then after that... not sure. I'm the SF guy climbin' with Phoenix orange boots guy

Mark

Hi Mark,
How was the route you took as far as rock fall? What time
did you and Ben hit the summit, I lost track of you after I crested the bowl on the left side? Lastly did you find anyone
to go up with you on Whitney. Looks like some weather may be
moving in next week. Be careful
Rick

I thought the same thing, and left my splitboard at home yesterday. There were still good turns to be had, just have to dodge a few bootpacks.

It's amazing how quickly that bowl is melting this early in the year. There are some good shots of Baldy this past weekend looking across the way from Telegraph peak on a recent TR from a nice fella in the San Gabriel forums (San Gabriel Forums). Perhaps all is not lost if anyone is willing to venture onto the northern-facing aspects in the range.

Hopefully this week's weather pattern bodes well for the left coast... Heck, even kick some of it our way into northern AZ! Our "backcountry" out here is sufferin'!

On the subject of Whitney's MR... we're kicking around a potential date, second weekend of March.

--Ben

Anybody planning on heading up Baldy on Sat. via ski hut??

Keep an eye on the weather. Conditions on Friday and Saturday are forecast to be particularly nasty.

Hey Rick! I don't want to hamper the fun, but just wanted to make sure you were aware of the forecast...
NOAA local 7-day
There could be another 2+ ft of fresh snow with this next system at the end of the week
If you do go, be safe!

--Ben