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Has anybody been up the Ski Hut route or the Devil's Backbone route on Baldy recently that can report on the snow conditions? I am coming in from out of town so I have no idea how much is up there this year.

Less than a foot . with a path like a freeway up the ski hut trail. May need micro spikes for a little ice in the am. This could all change with expected weather coming in tonight.
Dave

ridgeline wrote:Less than a foot . with a path like a freeway up the ski hut trail. May need micro spikes for a little ice in the am. This could all change with expected weather coming in tonight.
Dave

sorry if this is considered a threadjack, but just out of curiosity, how about register ridge? in general, can this route be done with mirco spikes, or are crampons recommended? i am comfortable on snow, but not on ice.

Any updates on the Baldy bowl? Is there enough snow to climb it?

Looked pretty snowy from the plane today.

I talked to my friend Miguel Carmona last night and he was on Baldy couple days before this latest storm. Said not much deep snow on the upper mountain. He reported reasonable conditions for snow hiking. He knows the mountain well, has been there a few times before in winter (50-75 times!) I was on San Jacinto two days ago, about 9-12 inches over icy crust above 9,000 feet. Those two peaks have similar conditions...

I was on Baldy, ski hut route, on the 19th. Easy trail with snow part of the way up. I did not use my crampons to the ski hut. There was a lot more snow in the bowl and to the ridge. On the steep sections there was some ice. mini spikes would have been sufficient, or careful climbing. I did not go above the ridge as it was late in the day. I would take gear with you, though it will probably be only pack weight during your hike.

Jerry

Since i'm heading-up to Baldy tomorrow morning, this thread is appreciated. Living on south OC, I see Baldy everyday while driving to work. It appears to have a lot of snow, as of today.

I'll post an update -hopefully with some pics.

artrock23 wrote:Since i'm heading-up to Baldy tomorrow morning, this thread is appreciated. Living on south OC, I see Baldy everyday while driving to work. It appears to have a lot of snow, as of today.

I'll post an update -hopefully with some pics.

Prepare for potential rough weather. Looks like the upped the chance of snow for tomorrow:
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.ph ... 3479003906

I was up there on the 23rd. Relatively steady snow starts around 7500 ft. I brought micro spikes and put them on right before the Ski Hut, mainly for ease of movement. After that, the snow is pretty consistent. I turned around soon after the ski hut due to incoming weather so I can't report on the ridge, although the bowl looked like it was well snow covered.

I hiked to the summit yesterday and the trail was snow covered from the hut to the summit. A firm base of about 18" across the bowl and maybe 24" in the trees up to the ridge just covering the manzanita bushes and rocks. One bold skier made turns just below the summit, and again into the bowl next to the trees. Some hikers were using crampons, and many others were just in running type shoes, some sliding more than others. On Monday 2 injured hikers were carried off the mtn. http://diamondbar-walnut.patch.com/arti ... ount-baldy

MarkinHB wrote:I hiked to the summit yesterday and the trail was snow covered from the hut to the summit. A firm base of about 18" across the bowl and maybe 24" in the trees up to the ridge just covering the manzanita bushes and rocks. One bold skier made turns just below the summit, and again into the bowl next to the trees. Some hikers were using crampons, and many others were just in running type shoes, some sliding more than others. On Monday 2 injured hikers were carried off the mtn. http://diamondbar-walnut.patch.com/arti ... ount-baldy

Good to hear about the snow. Maybe I'll get up in a week or so. I hope it stays. Thanks for the update

Jerry

Luciano136 wrote:Prepare for potential rough weather. Looks like the upped the chance of snow for tomorrow:
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.ph ... 3479003906

Yes, the storm came in early. It was ugly at the top of the mountain.

At the Ski Hut, I came across three guys who had snowboards in their packs and were planning to climb the bowl. I joined in with them, and we climbed the west side to the ridge. As stated in an earlier post, the snow was 18"-24"+ deep, although it was snowing the whole time. Around 200ft from the summit, I turned back, since the conditions (heavy snowfall, wind, and very poor visibility) were sketchy to me. Glissading back down the Bowl was a blast!

Thanks for the pics and update! Looks like the bowl should be in shape

I was up there New Years day. The bowl has thin snow. Not really good climbing. I avoided it.