SummitPost.org

I'm thinking about heading up there if I can get a group to go.

cyrusebrahimi wrote:I'm thinking about heading up there if I can get a group to go.

The drive alone will be interesting! Be aware that the road may be shut just after Angeles Oaks so access to Jenks Lake will be cut off. Not sure what the Vivian Creek side will do.....I don't like that side. North side rules!

Anyone been up since last snowfall. End of Feb?

Check http://members.boardhost.com/sgva/

How about now? The board for SGWA has nothing recent. Just trying to get some info. South Fork trail to some decent backcountry ski spots? Anyone now of any in case summit is out of reach on snowshoes?

I went up yesterday. There was a good amount of snow, about knee deep.
Left from the south fork trailhead and went to southfork meadows. Climbed and rode a ridge down from Alto Diablo Peak. Backcountry snowboarding has got to be one of the worst ideas ever. Can't wait for the trip to Mt. Tom. Don't know how it is anymore because it was starting to snow when I left at 4:00pm.

Left the car at 9am on Friday the 25th, and made good time to Dollar Lake just after 1, hiked Little Charlton and rode back, slept, hiked Charlton the next day and put a boot pack into the trees above Dollar and shredded that for another couple thousand vertical, slept, went to Alto Diablo this morning and took a ridge all the way down to the road. In the trees on N faces there is still face shots to be had, not the driest but well worth the effort. Really really windy this weekend and we were watching the cornices form, the back side of Charlton was really windscoured, but the lee side was awesome windblown snow through trees. Down low in the afternoon it was terrible, super mushy. Best snow in SoCal though right now I bet.

Backcountry snowboarding is the best idea ever, backcountry snowboarding on slowshoes however is pretty rough.

drpw wrote:Left the car at 9am on Friday the 25th, and made good time to Dollar Lake just after 1, hiked Little Charlton and rode back, slept, hiked Charlton the next day and put a boot pack into the trees above Dollar and shredded that for another couple thousand vertical, slept, went to Alto Diablo this morning and took a ridge all the way down to the road. In the trees on N faces there is still face shots to be had, not the driest but well worth the effort. Really really windy this weekend and we were watching the cornices form, the back side of Charlton was really windscoured, but the lee side was awesome windblown snow through trees. Down low in the afternoon it was terrible, super mushy. Best snow in SoCal though right now I bet.

Backcountry snowboarding is the best idea ever, backcountry snowboarding on slowshoes however is pretty rough.

Awesome trip for you! Whoever thinks that Gorgonio Wilderness is NOT the best place in SoCal to go backcountry needs to get their head checked!
Wind scouring and loading have got to be at a prime right now. What that avalanche conditions!

Blair and I got some awesome BC skiing done around South Fork Meadows this past weekend. The trail is inconsistent to about 9500', so bring your hiking boots (ugh). No recent slide activity seen but got some strange resonance on a convexity near Poop-Out while Blair was Herring-boning up a slope. The wind and slight freeze Saturday night healed conditions at least for a day, we had "near corn" experience off Charlton. YES!
Dance for another storm....soon.....

Thanks for the update Deb. We're heading up there on Sunday after the storm passes through, but we'll be plodding along in boots and snowshoes.

Hi,
Any updates on Baldy, San Jacinto, San Gorgonio conditions ?
If one wanted to hike week of April 18 or April 25, would one bring snow shoes ? Crampons/microspikes ?
Avalanche concerns ?

Is hiking discouraged during spring at all for reasons like
Vermont's mud season trail protection,
http://www.hazensnotch.org/vermontmudseasonhiking.htm
or http://www.theonion.com/articles/nation ... ion,17484/
or government shut downs ?
I have a week of vacation I need to spend, live in New England, looking for an April mountain destination with tolerable weather.
Looking for 8-14 mile-ish hikes with 3-6K' elevation gains.
Had looked at LA area mountains a couple years back but could not make that trip. I am an experienced winter snow traveler in New England mountains.
But would prefer to not bring snow gear all else being equal. Just gathering info at this point.
Thanks.

jrbrenvt wrote:Hi,
Any updates on Baldy, San Jacinto, San Gorgonio conditions ?
If one wanted to hike week of April 18 or April 25, would one bring snow shoes ? Crampons/microspikes ?
Avalanche concerns ?

Is hiking discouraged during spring at all for reasons like
Vermont's mud season trail protection,
http://www.hazensnotch.org/vermontmudseasonhiking.htm
or http://www.theonion.com/articles/nation ... ion,17484/
or government shut downs ?
I have a week of vacation I need to spend, live in New England, looking for an April mountain destination with tolerable weather.
Looking for 8-14 mile-ish hikes with 3-6K' elevation gains.
Had looked at LA area mountains a couple years back but could not make that trip. I am an experienced winter snow traveler in New England mountains.
But would prefer to not bring snow gear all else being equal. Just gathering info at this point.
Thanks.

You'll have lots of options for trails, elevation gain and water from the South Fork Trail of San Gorgonio Wilderness. At this point, you will most likely only need snowshoes over 9700' in the afternoon. Microspikes are useless on a mountain! You'll need crampons for early morning travel and most likely shaded areas over 10K', also any north facing wind scoured slopes. Avy concerns are definitely there for point release sloughing on any slope over 30 degrees, so watch those 2 avy chutes and rock croppings on the north side of San G and Charlton.
If you're going anywhere in SoCal over 9500' - you will need snow gear.
San Jacinto Wilderness got some great winds yesterday and there's an inch crust over snow from 8500', it gets thicker as you get higher. Not much need for snow shoes unless you travel south facing slopes in the afternoon, post-holing wasn't too terrible. Crampons would be recommended for early morning travel as well.

...and that's all folks!

Last week, Friday, April 9th I went with 3 friends up the South Fork Trail. I brought A/T skis and my 3 friends brought snowshoes. The was a few inches of fresh snow at the trailhead on Friday morning but not enough to start skinning until about 8,000 feet or past the 2nd (east) avalanche gully. There were some deep drifts near Horse Flat that got us into a few postholes. We camped at 9,200 feet along the mountaineers route to Big Draw. It snowed nice light big flakes starting late Friday afternoon and through the night. Another 2 to 3 inches accumulated overnight. It was nice getting some light fresh powder...in April...in Southern California! We had to head out early Saturday so no opportunity to summit this trip. It was 5 degrees a 6:00 a.m. Saturday when started down. I enjoyed the few turns I got skiing down in the fresh, un-tracked powder. The skies were mostly clear and Saturday was shaping up to be a beautiful day. We envied the several groups who were headed up as we going down.

I climbed one of the north facing chutes on Charlton yesterday and the warm temps really softened up the snow pack. We did use crampons from our camp at about 9000 feet and had to kick deep steps up the whole way. We saw no no signs of recent avalanche activities. The glissading was awesome.

Deb wrote:

jrbrenvt wrote:Hi,
Any updates on Baldy, San Jacinto, San Gorgonio conditions ?
If one wanted to hike week of April 18 or April 25, would one bring snow shoes ? Crampons/microspikes ?
Avalanche concerns ?

Is hiking discouraged during spring at all for reasons like
Vermont's mud season trail protection,
http://www.hazensnotch.org/vermontmudseasonhiking.htm
or http://www.theonion.com/articles/nation ... ion,17484/
or government shut downs ?
I have a week of vacation I need to spend, live in New England, looking for an April mountain destination with tolerable weather.
Looking for 8-14 mile-ish hikes with 3-6K' elevation gains.
Had looked at LA area mountains a couple years back but could not make that trip. I am an experienced winter snow traveler in New England mountains.
But would prefer to not bring snow gear all else being equal. Just gathering info at this point.
Thanks.

You'll have lots of options for trails, elevation gain and water from the South Fork Trail of San Gorgonio Wilderness. At this point, you will most likely only need snowshoes over 9700' in the afternoon. Microspikes are useless on a mountain! You'll need crampons for early morning travel and most likely shaded areas over 10K', also any north facing wind scoured slopes. Avy concerns are definitely there for point release sloughing on any slope over 30 degrees, so watch those 2 avy chutes and rock croppings on the north side of San G and Charlton.
If you're going anywhere in SoCal over 9500' - you will need snow gear.
San Jacinto Wilderness got some great winds yesterday and there's an inch crust over snow from 8500', it gets thicker as you get higher. Not much need for snow shoes unless you travel south facing slopes in the afternoon, post-holing wasn't too terrible. Crampons would be recommended for early morning travel as well.

...and that's all folks!

I have to agree about those microspikes - leave them home where they belong. Maybe microspikes are useful for wearing when you walk on an icy sidewalk or if you trail run where it get a bit slippery, but they aren't made for climbing mountains. I have to wonder if people buy those microspikes and use them instead of learning how to travel on snow, with the misconception that with microspikes on they don't need to bother to kick step and use friction..etc.

Last Saturday it was getting pretty icy above 10700' on San G's north side. Conditions change rapidly out there his time of year.