Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Conditions On Baldy

That is an impressive chunk of ice, Shin. Ski Hut conversations so scary it pains you to listen? Perhaps volunteer rangers there would dampen it down.

I have wondered about the dogs I have seen on Baldy in the winter. Perhaps four legs and claws provide a great deal of traction. But I have known dogs who were afraid of heights, and others afraid of slippery floors.

Please check www.10064ft.com for Mt. Baldy road and trail head conditions.
Pavel, aka, "Mayor of Mt. Baldy", added 3 more live cameras.
Camera 1) Fire Dept/Post office (4180 ft)
Camera 2) Ice House intersection (5000 ft)-- NEW
Camera 3) Ice House parking (5200 ft)
Camera 4) Ice House trailhead (5200 ft)--NEW
Camera 5) Big Butch crossing (5980 ft)-- NEW
Camera 6) Harwood Lodge near Manker flat (6000 ft)
Camera 7) Ski hut/Baldy Bowl (8200 ft) Out of Order now
There will be several sever snowstorms with 4-7 feet of snow in the forecast.
The camera shows CHP cruiser in camera 2 this morning.
CHP usually controls the traffic for snow chains, 4x4... at the intersection above the dam in heavy snow season.

Thank you, Pavel, for adding more cameras for our safety.

Sorry, correction!!!!!! Not www.10064ft.com

The website is https://10064ft.com

Hey Thanks Shin for the update on the webcams ,if used they can front load people on conditions and understand conditions plus all the great reports that you and others due. These systems moving in the next few days will be placing snow over a layer of hard pack/ice so watch for wind loading and unsafe conditions PLUS whiteout conditions.

RJ Secor basically sealed his fate from a slide in Baldy Bowl and Baldy has claimed many people who are naïve about how bad alpine conditions can be. I suppose such proximity to a huge semi tropical city is a big draw for people with a desire for something adventurist. I'm from New England and Mount Washington can be a really dangerous place anytime from October through May and especially in mid winter, While occasional poorly equipped people try winter ascents, most are scared off by the time they reach timberline. In my early days I climbed it many times including winter and in those times nobody would dare venture above treeline with real crampons. Instep spikes or microspikes just don't cut it on steep icy slopes.
As for Katahdin, park officials won't even allow you to go there in winter without undergoing park ranger approval for a winter climb. By western standards, both these mountains are just hills, but weather makes all the difference. From what I see on this forum, Baldy is mostly a benign place for hiking and is often rather welcoming in average winters. But this year, people would do well to treat it like Mount Washington.

Of course I meant to say "without real crampons" sorry.

All trails on Mt. Baldy remain closed and no reopening date has been set by Angeles National Forest officials.

Many hikers train for Mt. Whitney hike on Mt. Baldy. Many of us already applied for the permits.
We will lose our training ground for a while. In order to keep Baldy shape, my friend and I hiked on Old Mt. Wilson trail in city of Sierra Madre off Baldwin Avenue off-ramp on 210 Freeway. Chantry flat trailhead and parking lot was closed.
This trail offers us over 14 miles and elevation gain of over 5100 feet in very scenic and well maintained with very moderate incline trail covered with trees. There was solid snow with 2-3 feet deep above 4500 feet. There were several fallen trees on service road near the summit. The last 1.3-mile section of trail was diverted on to service road and this made the last portion of hike very long. We had some drizzle, mist, heavy fog, cold wind, snow....all in very moderate conditions. There was a remain of avalanche and rockslide in one canyon below 5000 ft. Overall the trail was very well maintained, well-marked, and enjoyable.
This trail offers us same kind of workout as Bear canyon hike on Mt. Baldy. This trail will keep us in shape till Mt. Baldy reopen.

Trekking poles and micro spike are must.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dQ82MXSBueDwv4TV7

Have a great hike.

Shin, thanks for the conditions update on the Mt Wilson Trail. This trail is a gem with a significant history. I've been hiking it regularly since the 1980's (as well as Baldy since the 1950's).

The Mt Wilson Trail Gate, sign, and wrought iron fence (in your photo) were built last year by funds contributed by the citizens of Sierra Madre. It is a replica of a structure that stood there a century ago.

The wooden bridge under construction (in your photo) is the work of Sierra Madre volunteers. The next work outing by the volunteer Trail Crew is March 26. It will meet at Lizzie's Trail Inn at 7AM. Donations for the Trail Crew's equipment purchase can be sent to the Fletcher Trail Maintenance Fund at PO Box 716 Sierra Madre, CA 91025, a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt organization.

The structures/telescopes up on top (covered in snow in your photos) are linked to the construction of the observatory on the summit of Mt Whitney built in 1909 (by the citizens of Lone Pine with some funding from the Smithsonian Institution). The Smithsonian effort was lead by Dr Abbot, director of the Mt Wilson Observatory, Professor MacAdie, and Dr Campbell.

Enjoy the Trail.

Jim

PS- The rattlesnakes on the lower part of the Trail will be waking up soon.

Hi Shin,
Thanks for the info on the MWT. Below is postedfrom the Angels National Forest website doesn't look like they have a Baldy Closure in place... just an advisory...
Date(s): Mar 2, 2023
Advisory--Hiking at High Elevations
Hiking at high elevations (Mt Baldy, Icehouse Canyon, Mt Islip, etc.) in winter/spring requires experienced mountaineering skills and is not recommended for those unprepared for extreme conditions that can change very quickly.

Consider both your safety and the safety of rescuers.

The following is strongly recommended when accessing areas with extreme alpine conditions, e.g., Mt. Baldy & Icehouse Canyon areas, Mt. Islip, etc.

--Do not travel alone

--Bring extra food, clothing, and supplies

--Be prepared for changing weather conditions

--Be prepared in case you need to stay overnight

--Winter mountaineering training

--Maps and compass

--Alpine boots

--Helmet

--Ice axe

--Crampons (10 or more points)

To see a map of the Angeles National Forest, visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/ivm/

Thanks to Shin for the trip report, and to Jim and Rick for the information.

The last time I hiked the Mount Wilson Trail was in February 2010. Not quite as much snow, but plenty, it was a wet winter. Had the trail pretty much to myself on the way up, but encountered hordes of people coming down. I believe the trail was closed soon after, due to washouts. Perhaps this will occur again, soon. I calculated the elevation gain as 4800', but I do see reports of more. Iron Mountain would be the ultimate conditioner.

The hiking advisory that Shin mentioned a few weeks ago still flashes on Mt Baldy Rd, but there was no trail closure sign at the trailhead. In 20 years of winter hiking on Baldy I've never seen so much snow. It was ~3' on the paved part of the road, ~6-7' on the Ski Hut Trail, but only ~3' on the summit (the signs were visible). I carried snowshoes, crampons, and axe but only used poles and microspikes because there was a boot track the whole way. I started hiking at 9:30, and the snow was terrific (though tiring) to the summit and back down to the ski hut. But the stretch below the hut had softened considerably by the afternoon, and I postholed a number of times. That seemed preferable to snowshoes on that narrow, uneven part of the trails (I basically followed the summer trail up and a lower trail down to avoid that semicircular bit of the trail that sees snow and rock fall). So in this snow it's probably wise to get an early start, although who knows what the mountain will be like if 1-2" of rain actually falls tomorrow?

This is a trail condition of 03-12-20023.
Ski hut host offered us a strip of hot bacon and brownie in the morning and one nice couple offered us a hot fresh coffee on the way down. It was a very good day but a long day.

There was 1-5 feet of snow from 100 yard behind the trailhead white gate to the summit. Snow was crusty on top and very soft underneath. It may be caused by the heavy rain from last week.
The trail surface was uneven with many deep foot holes as deep as 3 foot deep. Ice axe or trekking poles without big baskets were useless. I lost my footing twice, one time with waist deep near Ski hut. The snow near the creek of Ski hut started to form snow bridge. The creek was running strong; snow must be melting fast.

There was an avalanche on westside ridge. There should be more now by now. The trail was total mess on the way down with soft deep snow. Snowshoes was the best gear for hiking down.

The trail will be more difficult to deal because of recent snow and rain.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bSZNc4vL14RCLTKH9

Have a safe hike.

Shin,

Brent mentioned that he was glad he was wearing snowshoes and felt like he was descending in the carpool lane as he was quickly passing those in boots who were post-holing. I did not get up there today, but with the new snow forecasted for this week, I bet snowshoes will again be the preferred mode of transportation. Maybe I will see you there next Saturday. Regards! Norma

The weather was very unstable on Baldy today. It was raining, snowing, windy, and cold. The weather got worsened by 6 hours earlier than the forecast. I didn't have proper clothing, so we turned around.
Snow was very heavy beyond Ski hut and several signs of avalanches in the bowl. Many people turned around. There were some hikers and skiers.
San Dimas volunteer SAR members were training. I had a chance to speak with one member. She responded back to me very politely for my very pointed questions. There aren't any good solutions for curtailing the accidents on the mountains.

Snow or weather conditions changes every minute so there is no good answer for what to carry or what to wear. The snow condition is good for skier is not good for average hikers or ice climbers. Snow condition is good for advanced mountaineer is totally fatal to average weekend hikers. We get the information about the condition of mountains from different sources and apply to ourselves without knowing who is talking about the conditions.

Last week, many skiers enjoyed the soft snow, but it was a hell for average weekend hikers. Ski hut host told us that there were hikers with microspike heading up to the summit 4 P.M. last week. There was a big, heated words of exchange between elite climbers and one local hiker made a suggestion to them about the unsafe conditions of mountains. Nothing will change.!!

There will be more snow this week.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rsHaHA8F8qGD4A5B8

Have a safe hike.

Last storm left more snow on Mt. Baldy.
It was very cold but not much wind except the summit. My water bladder's mouthpiece got frozen and no water for a half day.
Manker flat: 2-3-foot-deep snow and limited parking space.
From trailhead to the summit: 2-6 foot deep of snow. It was well
consolidated in the morning.
There was a spur trail led you up to right hand side hill following the skier's track keep you 30-50 feet higher than regular trail below around 7700 feet. The track was solid but traveled on very steep snow slope. It was a better idea to stay low. There was a large-scale snow slide and occasional ice falls from up above.
From Ski hut to the summit: There was a well-established single-track trail traveling along the left side of west bowl. There was no track was established on regular tree section of summer trail.
Thank you, Brent and other hikers, for post-holing and set the safe track for us.

There were two or three climbing parties went up the chutes and the bowl and saw one snowboarder went down very steep chute. They started very early in the morning when the snow was very stable.
Most of hikers were well prepared. Everyone seemed having good time. There were many people including newlywed couple enjoining the snow. Manker flat parking was congested as usual on weekend.
I got a strip of bacon at Ski hut again. Thank you, Dan White.
I met many longtime friends and WPSMB members, Jay, Randy S....
I met super nice young hikers preparing for Sierra season. We agreed on Mt. Baldy is the best mountain for training with the least amount of money.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/NDP7pyQUp1NxAXXA8

Have a great safe hike.

Thanks Shin! Great report & photos as usual...

Hi CatB,
It's so nice to hear from you. Mt. Baldy got more snow than last week. If you are interested in hiking again, please let me know.

Manker flat parking lot was almost full around 6:30.
Most of fire road was very icy early in the morning.
The snow on west facing hillside of Register ridge trail up to San Antonio canyon down slid down in many steep canyons.
The trail was well established on consolidated snow to Ski hut.
There were many snow slides on the face of bowl. Snow was in good condition for Skiers, snowboarders, climbers, and hikers depend on the route they chose. I took the route between Schitzo alley and 3 pin alley line which I can avoid rock/ice falls and it was the most direct route to the summit.
The snow got soft very fast late morning and some sections of trail got many spur tracks everywhere. It got hard to go down between 9000ft to 8600 ft and some below Ski hut. One long travers in the tree section around 8400ft exiting down on west bowl was bit intimidating because of deep soft snow on long steep hillside. I traveled as fast as possible.
It is a good idea to start as early as possible to enjoy good snow.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/CGPfvFcCN7sM89CC8
Have a great hike.

Snow and trail conditions were pretty much same as last weekend.
But, the snow conditions got much poorer by recent high temperature.
From the San Antonio fall to the summit was covered 1–5-foot-deep solid snow. Snow gets very soft late morning, and it was very hard to hike up or down. It is better to start early to enjoy the snow hike.
There were many hikers, snowboarders, and Skiers in the bowl or different chutes. Some group started around 2:30 a.m. at Manker to climb the bowl. We took a line between Schitzo/3 pin alley to avoid heavy traffic in main bowl. There were many dogs on the mountains.
We ran into "Hiking twins" and their father on the trail. They looked very good and enjoying the hike.
I got hit by a sizable rock on my thigh in the middle of creek crossing above the Ski hut. The place was the most unthinkable place something to happen. A rock flew down from the creek above without any sound. I was fine but sore thigh. It seemed like a getting a speeding ticket 100 yards away from home.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Qfetobtg47NwcEUQ9

Have a great hike and watch out a flying rock in spring time.

Hey sorry about the rock kinda watch the area for internal bleeding.
Watching the snow clear on the mountains down there so should be a mess for awhile. We are just starting with a few warm days ,but snow fighting back at about 7000' on the north facing slopes.

Snow is melting very fast. But there was still 1-4-foot-deep snow from 7700 to the summit. All the good tracks from last week were disappeared by melting snow. The trail from Ski hut to the west ridge still traveled from left side of bottom of west bowl. Snow is still very deep and trail was messed up. No track on regular summer trail in the tree section to the west ridge. Most of early hikers went up Zeke's chute following the glissade line with good track established by skier's heavy boots. There were many skiers at the top edge of the bowl and waiting for the moment. Some went down to deep Goode canyon to the west.
Snow got very soft late morning. All tracks were destroyed from 9200-8700. We glissaded down very slowly in controlled speed.
There were many hikers glissaded down in main bowl.
It may take a few more weeks to see the regular hiking trail.

We met longtime WPSMB member Randy S. and Rick G.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6PMnAC2QLbUmYGT49
Have a great hike.