Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums Active Threads

The trail conditions of Mt. Baldy area viewed from Ontario peak. (Please zoom in the photos)
From east to west direction:
All south facing slope of Timber, Telegraph, Thunder (3Ts), Devil's backbone to the bottom of Mt. Harwood to the saddle looked dry.
Baldy bowl/Ski hut trail to the Ski hut looked dry. There should be good amount of snow in the tree section to the west ridge. There may be small snow sections or mostly dry from the west ridge to 9200ft.
Mt. Baldy and west Baldy are still covered with snow above 9300ft.
The main Baldy bawl is losing the snow fast. West bowl facing east should have good snow left to climb if the mountain is open.
All area below 7000ft affected by the Bridge fire on Bear canyon is still looked brown.
There was some snow left on Mt. Baden-Powell in the distance.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/LYVfsWiWevfrckQB6
Have a great hike.
P.S.
Ontario peak trail was covered with frozen bumpy snow. It is a great idea to stay on or in the existing boots track with minimum gears of micro spikes and trekking poles. If you trip and fall or skid off from the trail, it is almost impossible to stop yourself on frozen/icy steep slope (even with crampons or ice axe) with trees and rocks especially between the Icehouse saddle to Kelly's camp.
Somehow the boots track went over three false summits before the Ontario peak. It was a discouraging and long snow hike. The summer trail sits much lower.
Some hiker tried to take a shortcut and got lost. But they were all right. Maintaining a visual contact and awareness of surroundings are very important in snow hiking.
Some hikers headed out to Cucamonga peak direction without micro spikes or trekking poles. The conditions of trail would be challenging as Ontario peak.

Like the other replies, I'm sorry to hear about the theft an have plenty of gas to throw on the fire but that won't help.

I also ride a bicycle, a relatively cheap one because I have planned ahead for the possible theft, what would I do if I'm there, or not, etc... The reason I mention this is that in the cycling community there is a list where you can report your bike stolen and often they are recovered. They did actually locate a person of interest that does things like act as a broker for the thieves to take stolen bikes to. If the bikes are inexpensive enough they resell them locally. If they're in the 5-15k range they'll advertise them out of the country to avoid possible detection by the victim and/or LE and if there's interest they'll transport them to whatever locality where there are buyers, so long as the economics make sense. I suspect the same holds for any stolen item: an e-bike, firearms, etc.

The smart and imaginative criminals are very creative. Anyways it might be worth your time to try to locate a similar list where stolen e-bike information is aggregated. I don't see it being a privacy issue for you nor exposing you to more security risk. Hope this helps.

With a view like that the insurance company will deny the claim without a doubt! "Sorry Richard, but we simply can't afford to pay out your claim when your bike includes Mt. Whitney and a decent chunk of the surrounding area..."


Sorry to hear about your bike! I thought the videos you posted riding up to the Portal Store were pretty awesome.

They're what reminded me to actually make an account here despite "creeping" on the posts since 2023 :p

Bump

If anyone has any recent photos of the final 400, or obtains some in the coming weeks, please post!

*This also applies to any helpful material regarding the current conditions of the MR!

Leave your pack outside the house so a bear runs off with the scumbag...

But in all seriousness, sorry to hear about your E-bike being stolen, Richard. Hope they find him and you get it back.

If you are able to grab aerial updates on different sites that would be excellent!

...and go try to pawn it at Dart Thrift to buy as many 40s of Olde English as possible...

Can I get the specieal permission required to fly my drone to check each site?
I'll have to be very careful as a Condor may attack the drone at the Roost...

I told the Deputy that I'm concerned I'm a marked man now (more bikes available to steal) and sure enough...wife comes home last night to some scumbag cruising by the house slowly...
Cameras (and remote controlled guns) are going up soon...

And, to make this relevant...
Don't leave your pack unattended as a bear will probably run off with it...

I'd check out Robbers Roost first.

...and he stashed it on Crooks Peak.

I suspect Tiburcio Vásquez.

There's actually a 4WD road a few feet away...I think you get 15 feet before you're violating the law...:-)...I"m pretty good at making things look a lot different than they actually are...like those Walk-Ups that look really, really steep...

Thanks. Right now, the sympathy is appreciated...this was one of two bikes in the collection that are favorites...

Damn, that's awful! Very few things that are more blood-boiling and frustrating than having something stolen. Really sorry to hear.

(I just hope they don't add insult to injury by using your photo as evidence and give you a citation for taking it off road...)

Cancelled trips seem to be common...
I was going to be up there today, but some scumbag(s) cut the straps holding my e-bike on the carrier and headed off with it...
Slim-to-none that I'll ever see it again...not just my opinion...
Police Report...Insurance Claim (loads of fun in CA...probably going to take weeks to settle this...)
the insurance company wants a photo...this is about the best I have showing what the bike looks like...

Sounds good. Thanks for the update, Doug Sr!

Hi Comradebear,
I haven't hiked Mt. Baldy since last September so there was nothing to report except many photos from Ontario peak. Timber, Telegraph,.......
https://photos.app.goo.gl/EZpMV8WDZP3tAY5H6
Since I don't have $5000.00 for the fine, I have been looking at Mt. Baldy from the distance just like looking at the Mona Lisa in a museum.

According to local tv news, ktla, a 40 years old hiker wearing a light jacket, shorts, and tennis shoes with a dog got rescued from sketchy narrow trail covered with snow and ice around 9000 ft. This was the perfect example of kind of situation which authorities want to avoid or fed up with.
I hope the authorities won't penalize us for postponing the opening date of Mt. Baldy because of this rescue operation. I have met several hikers who had hiked Mt. Baldy illegally and bragging about their conduct openly. Either way, we have to pay the price at the end.

Mt. Baldy is still the best local mountain for hiking and all other outdoor activities.

Have a great hike.

P.S.
All trails to Ontario, Bighorn, Cucamonga, and Etiwanda are still covered with good amount of snow from Icehouse saddle because they are on north facing slopes and canyons.

Depending on road work and snow removal Campground could open Apr 25, water may be a few days later.

I bailed on my trip FWIW. The mountain ought to be there next spring too?

Thank you for the information, Doug Sr! I will keep an eye out for further updates.

I will be on a meeting today with the campground manager and will ask when they plan to open , our plans are as normal mid April we start moving in and repairing any damage from the winter. Permits start on May 1 .

I should add on the first switchback after the lower gate several large sections of rock has slid down onto the road , not that it is the size but the rocks are stacked against each other and the normal use of the loader night cause the others to come down . So going up mid April the hard gate could be locked at the bottom and foot traffic not advised.

Looks like Whitney Portal Campgrounds won't open up until May 16 this season(later than usual?)

Does this mean the Whitney Portal area and store won't open up until then? Or will the upper gates be open earlier than May 16th?

Hoping to go end of April before permit season, but not ideal for me to camp below the Whitney Portal elevation.

Any thoughts or info is helpful! Thanks.

Shin always does a nice job providing updates on Baldy after his hikes, as well as occasional stories or forum links posted such as Edw's link.

SanJacJon also does a nice job posting updates on his website regarding San Jacinto.

Does anybody know of any forum links or people who frequently post about San Gorgonio?

Check the 3rd Annual Moonlight trip report on the San Gabriel Mountains Discussion Board:

https://eispiraten.com/viewtopic.php?p=71421&sid=294a8634bcb141aef023c8f8fbf459f9#p71421

Read there was a rescue at 9000 on Baldy....?? Is there a portion of
Baldy that is open where one can get to 9000 ft? and if you one can
reach 9000, then not the Summit.?? I've avoided Baldy because of the
closure but if a portion is open, I'd like to know where. Any input
would be appreciated. Safe Hiking, Rick

No snow until Whitney Portal. Yes it is fairly easy to get up until the Iceberg Lake. There are solid boot tracks.

YouTube is about my only form of "TV Entertainement" these days...far more fantastic channels than I can "afford" to watch...

Favorites these days is a Swedish Woman who's in the Nepal Himalaya right now...she rode from home...a German dude riding an e-bike all over...focused on watching his Ladakh videos right now...heading there in late-August...and of course, there's Itchy Boots...who's been in the Saudi Desert recently...the only reason I'd want to go there would be to ride Dakar...and I'm way too old for that...

I wish the Chinese weren't so strict on Foreigners...I'd love to figure out how to ride from Ladakh to Nepal via China/Tibet...

I'm calling this my Old-Life Crisis...went through essectially the same thing in Mid-Life...some of the best times of my life exploring places outside of the US...