Lori, we were going up Ice House trail (out of Mt Baldy Village) one winter morning. We got near the saddle and absolutely could not stand up. Even crawling on hands/elbows and knees and even squirming on belly you would sloooowwwly start to creep off and head down canyon.
Went back the next morning after another coating from an overnight ice storm and walked right on up to the saddle using insteps...which was a little stupid because we had to come back down that same ice. You will find that coming down steep trail with insteps is a bit more challenging than going up.
But when one is determined nothing will stop ya.
These helpers are not always safe, as you can get over confident in situations, even in the San Gabriells, that sometimes really require the full set up, including an ice ax (to stop a slide) and crampons (to get out of that impossibly awkward position you are now in). Mt Baldy at times really gets to be like a very slick temporary glacier with some steep thick ice that covers the 'tourist' trail after big ice storms.
Always best to come back at another time either with re-enforcement or a melting heat wave. Hot chocolate is always nice in front of a big fireplace as an option.
First off, I'm not big on anything with less than 10 points in the mountains.
I go up Icehouse Canyon most winter Saturdays and it has more stupidity per square foot than any place in the local wilderness. I have seen people on their hands and knees descending after going too high, instep crampons slipping out on moderate angle stuff and a multiple injury climbing accident. It's not the up that gets you, usually, it is the down.
The cables always have ice...May, June, July, August and September. When it is wet or during a drought. With the cables it is relatively safe, a place where I have never had a problem. However, the area area which does have a high pucker factor this time of year, and is rarely mentioned, is between Trailside Meadow and Consultation Lake. I have passed through this area a couple of times without thinking...and the key word is thinking. There is an area about 3/4 of the way to Consultation Lake where snow builds up angled towards a multi-hundred foot drop off. Descending through this area without fangs an axe has been my most scary experience in the Mt. Whitney area.
