Beaver1believer - Jan 31, 2008 4:16 am Date Climbed: Jan 30, 2008
A Night Hike
Summited Baldy via the Bowl. Perfect conditions. Started at 3:30 pm, summited at 8:15 pm. Solo. Beautiful! Returned to car at 10:15pm.
Crampons/ice axe a must. No avalanche danger in bowl (7pm onward). Good snow. Superb view!
Uncleman - Jan 27, 2008 1:51 am Date Climbed: Jan 19, 2008
Ski Hut Trail to SBSAR Rescue
Successful ascent via the Ski Hut Trail. Great day, great conditions. Bumped into fellow SPer’s at the Ski Hut. Descent was capped off with a ride in a SBSAR helo. My trip report explains it all. Will be making another summit bid soon…
Day Hiker - Jan 25, 2008 9:13 pm Date Climbed: Jan 19, 2008
Baldy Bowl
Great snow climb, not too difficult or dangerous, but a great workout, great photos, and a lot of fun. Went with Rick Kent, forjan, patrickfinley, uwjennie, and . . . sorry I don't know all names, but it was great to hike together.
forjan - Jan 20, 2008 12:48 pm Date Climbed: Jan 19, 2008
Baldy Bowl
Climbed with Patrick, Rick Kent and Day Hiker. Ran into uwjennie, her b/f and friend. Awesome day in the Bowl. Great glissade down too! Afterwards we all went for burgers & beers at the Mt. Baldy Lodge (thanks for the suggestion Rick!)
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Route Climbed: Traverse from Iron Mtn.
Date Climbed: January 21, 2007
Started the day hike from Heaton Flats trailhead to Iron Mountain. Then, traversed over from Iron Mountain along the San Antonio ridge to West Baldy and finally Baldy summiting at 4:08pm under 60mph to 80mph winds (almost got blown off the mountain!). Descended the Ski Hut trail to Manker Flats.
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Route Climbed: Bear Canyon/Bear Flat
Date Climbed: November 13, 2004
After meeting with Alex Gorokhov at 7:00am at the bottom of the ski lifts, I left my car there at the parking lot and Alex gave me a ride to the Baldy village church (the start of the Bear Canyon trail). Alex then went on to Icehouse Canyon as his agenda was to climb Cucamonga Peak. I started hiking at 7:30am. By 10:20am, I was taking my lunch break at 9080 feet. At about 9400 feet, the puffy clouds blowing from the northeast created a white-out. This is my 1st white-out on Baldy. It got cold quick and very windy (approx 40mph with gusts up to 50mph). The white-out was very persistant all the way to the summit and beyond. I had to slow down to hike through the white-out....and then, as soon as I gained the upper ridge at about 9800 feet, the snow was very very hard. In fact, there were patches of ice sheets. I had to take my crampons out and put them on with ice axe on hand. It took me like 1 1/2 hours to go from 9080' to the summit (10,064') because of the white-out conditions. I only stayed 15 minutes on the summit (sheltered against the ground) hoping it would clear, but it didn't. I decided to bag Mt. Harwood (9552') on the way down. I kept my ice axe out and crampons on all the way down the Devil's Backbone. I arrived at Baldy Notch (7800') by 3:00pm. Then, I took the ski lift down to save my knees, and at 3:30pm (8 hrs later after I started in the morning) I was sitting on my car warming up.
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Route Climbed: The Bowl
Date Climbed: December 30, 2002
Yet another great Baldy winter ascent. Sunny skies and generally not too cold. Went with fellow SCMA member Alex Gorokhov. We started at the Manker Flats trailhead. There was a bit of ice right at the trailhead this morning. We took our first snack break at the green Ski Hut. We then climbed pretty much the middle (more to the East) of the bowl. Snow was good for kicking steps. I personally did not use crampons but Alex did. After summiting, we descended about 100-200' from Baldy's summit towards the Devil's Backbone and found a nice run-out slope to practice self-arrest. Alex and I practiced all the self-arrest fall positions. We then continued down via the Devil's Backbone to Baldy Notch. We stopped at the restaurant there and had a beer. Got lazy and caught the ski lift down to the parking lot. All in all, a very nice day!
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Route Climbed: July 28, 2001
Date Climbed: Bear Canyon/Bear Flat
Day hiked with Tom McKnelly to prepare for the Vitesse Whitney day hike in August 2001.
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Route Climbed: North Backbone (Blue Ridge)
Date Climbed: June 17, 2001
Started from Guffy campground. Up and back on the North Backbone (Blue Ridge) trail. Ran out of water early on and had a slow day.
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Route Climbed: Bear Canyon/Bear Flat
Date Climbed: June 3, 2000
Backbacked up via Bear Flat with Will Felten. Slept at the summit. Next day descended via San Antonio Sierra Ski Hut. Will was tired so I walked from Manker Flats to the Baldy Village church to pick up our car.
Bill562 - Jan 13, 2008 11:06 pm Date Climbed: Jan 13, 2008
Baldy Bowl
Climbed with Dave Gonzalez. The snow conditions in the bowl were excellent. Winds made the walk to the summit above the chutes challenging. Had to fight traffic to get out of the trailhead. Sunday afternoon snow play for the LA crowd I guess...
My first substantial hike after a year living in Southern California and it was quite tough. The plan was to hike up the Ski Hut trail to the peak, then across the Backbone ridge and back down along the fire road (I don't think the lift was running). We ended up doing it backwards and the steep downhill on the Ski Hut trail cost me a toenail when all was said and done. It was a beautiful, cold day before the snow hit that year. It made be truly appreciate our wilderness areas. Let's hope there is plenty of rain and snow up there for the spring PCTers.
Climbed all seasons and winter is my favorite. On good snow years the most enjoyable route is directly up the bowl. In March 2005 I was able to snowboard all the way down to the Manker Flats trailhead via the ski hut trail. Weekdays are much better than weekends, sometimes you will have the mountain all to yourself.
Jackalopes - Dec 4, 2007 2:13 pm Date Climbed: Dec 20, 2006
Devils Backbone several times Ski Hut twice
Done it in all four seasons... Both routes are great. The Ski Hut trail a bit more challenging but easily done in 3/4 of a day. Devils Backbone give you the option of riding the ski lift down if you do it in winter, on a holiday or on a weekend.
hashref - Nov 27, 2007 8:10 pm Date Climbed: Aug 19, 2007
Via Devil's Backbone
This was my first hike in a long, long time and luckily it wasn't my last. I struggled quite a bit. The last 500' or so was nearly the end of me. I am at bit surprised I made it, but I am stubborned like that. I was so damn tired when I finally made it to the top, it don't think I really appreciated the scenery or even got a sense of accomplishment. I guess I was really intimidated the I got myself up there and now I had to get myself down. *groan*
Regardless, I certainly would attempt this again; if only to get a sense that I actually made it and to take in the vast expanse Baldy has to offer.
Schuetzenweber - Nov 21, 2007 12:17 am Date Climbed: Sep 21, 2007
Ski Hut Route
Hiked it just before the storm. Beautiful day but windy up top. Saw mountaingoats just below the Hut. Spotted the Hellcats near the Summit. San Antonio Falls was in full effect!
ryanclear - Oct 29, 2007 9:38 pm Date Climbed: Sep 5, 2007
easy hike, want a harder route
Ive done this a few times. It seems too easy when you take the ski lifts. Either use bear creek or park at the ski lifts and take the service road up. It is much more rewarding.
I went a few days after the first storm in california. It was beautiful non the less. Snow was pretty low, around 8000 feet. I made great time and the summit was beautiful being over the clouds. I have pics of my last trip.
eric.hannan - Oct 22, 2007 9:24 pm Date Climbed: Mar 17, 2007
To The Top
Made it to the top on a day hike. One of the people with us didn't have enough water or food. I'm done hiking with people who are unprepared after this one. We also got off the trail a little bit, no big deal but on our way back to it we ran into a plane that had crashed into baldy many years ago. Great Hike! Good amount of snow!
The Tailor - Sep 17, 2007 10:46 pm Date Climbed: Sep 15, 2007
1st time
First climb and it was a great day. We could see the smoke from the fires in Big Bear.
Start from the bottom of the ski lift run to Manker Flat and then up the fire road to the notch. Finish with Devils back bone to the top. Great day for a race weather was perfect. Must have been 500 people running today. Thanks to all the volunteers. Summit #10.
copeg - Aug 30, 2007 3:55 pm Date Climbed: Mar 13, 2004
Climbed a few years back
Climbed up Baldy Bowl one year in early spring. Made it to the top of the bowl in high winds before I turned after hearing way too much whumping under the snow. A little scared, I bolted down the bowl on my skis.
Climbed several times, most recently in 2004 (finally signing the register) from the hut, Manker (is that a waterfall in LA?) and even took the lift once. This is a great escape from the empire.
BLT - Aug 16, 2007 1:57 pm Date Climbed: Sep 14, 2005
Baldy Bowl/ski hut trail
Been to the top many times, mostly via Baldy Bowl. I hope to do the old trail from Baldy Village some day but haven't yet.
Annie - Aug 6, 2007 6:52 pm Date Climbed: Jul 3, 2006
Hot
Was fun until the top when I started not feeling good (camp from sea level that morning). With Brian.
Went with my sister Tracy, her friend Will, and Z. We took the ski lift up to Baldy Notch. Gorgeous day, great hike. The trail and summit were a bit crowded but everyone was friendly. The smog and haze obscured views all around, but the Devil's Backbone trail is still gorgeous.
CookieMonster - Jul 20, 2007 1:57 am Date Climbed: Jul 1, 2007
My Stairmaster
At this rate, I'll climb it ten times this year. I came down via Baldy Bowl after my last two summits. The eastern route, decending below the Devil's Backbone trail, is fast and well used. However, beware of the use trail heading to a steep and loose chute just before the Ski Hut Trail begins decending steeply to the SW. Oh well, I had to try it. Not recommended in the summer, but I'll be back to ski it in the winter.
Beaver1believer - Jan 31, 2008 4:16 am Date Climbed: Jan 30, 2008
A Night HikeSummited Baldy via the Bowl. Perfect conditions. Started at 3:30 pm, summited at 8:15 pm. Solo. Beautiful! Returned to car at 10:15pm.
Crampons/ice axe a must. No avalanche danger in bowl (7pm onward). Good snow. Superb view!
Uncleman - Jan 27, 2008 1:51 am Date Climbed: Jan 19, 2008
Ski Hut Trail to SBSAR RescueSuccessful ascent via the Ski Hut Trail. Great day, great conditions. Bumped into fellow SPer’s at the Ski Hut. Descent was capped off with a ride in a SBSAR helo. My trip report explains it all. Will be making another summit bid soon…
Day Hiker - Jan 25, 2008 9:13 pm Date Climbed: Jan 19, 2008
Baldy BowlGreat snow climb, not too difficult or dangerous, but a great workout, great photos, and a lot of fun. Went with Rick Kent, forjan, patrickfinley, uwjennie, and . . . sorry I don't know all names, but it was great to hike together.
forjan - Jan 20, 2008 12:48 pm Date Climbed: Jan 19, 2008
Baldy BowlClimbed with Patrick, Rick Kent and Day Hiker. Ran into uwjennie, her b/f and friend. Awesome day in the Bowl. Great glissade down too! Afterwards we all went for burgers & beers at the Mt. Baldy Lodge (thanks for the suggestion Rick!)
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Route Climbed: Traverse from Iron Mtn.
Date Climbed: January 21, 2007
Started the day hike from Heaton Flats trailhead to Iron Mountain. Then, traversed over from Iron Mountain along the San Antonio ridge to West Baldy and finally Baldy summiting at 4:08pm under 60mph to 80mph winds (almost got blown off the mountain!). Descended the Ski Hut trail to Manker Flats.
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Route Climbed: Bear Canyon/Bear Flat
Date Climbed: November 13, 2004
After meeting with Alex Gorokhov at 7:00am at the bottom of the ski lifts, I left my car there at the parking lot and Alex gave me a ride to the Baldy village church (the start of the Bear Canyon trail). Alex then went on to Icehouse Canyon as his agenda was to climb Cucamonga Peak. I started hiking at 7:30am. By 10:20am, I was taking my lunch break at 9080 feet. At about 9400 feet, the puffy clouds blowing from the northeast created a white-out. This is my 1st white-out on Baldy. It got cold quick and very windy (approx 40mph with gusts up to 50mph). The white-out was very persistant all the way to the summit and beyond. I had to slow down to hike through the white-out....and then, as soon as I gained the upper ridge at about 9800 feet, the snow was very very hard. In fact, there were patches of ice sheets. I had to take my crampons out and put them on with ice axe on hand. It took me like 1 1/2 hours to go from 9080' to the summit (10,064') because of the white-out conditions. I only stayed 15 minutes on the summit (sheltered against the ground) hoping it would clear, but it didn't. I decided to bag Mt. Harwood (9552') on the way down. I kept my ice axe out and crampons on all the way down the Devil's Backbone. I arrived at Baldy Notch (7800') by 3:00pm. Then, I took the ski lift down to save my knees, and at 3:30pm (8 hrs later after I started in the morning) I was sitting on my car warming up.
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Route Climbed: The Bowl
Date Climbed: December 30, 2002
Yet another great Baldy winter ascent. Sunny skies and generally not too cold. Went with fellow SCMA member Alex Gorokhov. We started at the Manker Flats trailhead. There was a bit of ice right at the trailhead this morning. We took our first snack break at the green Ski Hut. We then climbed pretty much the middle (more to the East) of the bowl. Snow was good for kicking steps. I personally did not use crampons but Alex did. After summiting, we descended about 100-200' from Baldy's summit towards the Devil's Backbone and found a nice run-out slope to practice self-arrest. Alex and I practiced all the self-arrest fall positions. We then continued down via the Devil's Backbone to Baldy Notch. We stopped at the restaurant there and had a beer. Got lazy and caught the ski lift down to the parking lot. All in all, a very nice day!
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Route Climbed: July 28, 2001
Date Climbed: Bear Canyon/Bear Flat
Day hiked with Tom McKnelly to prepare for the Vitesse Whitney day hike in August 2001.
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Route Climbed: North Backbone (Blue Ridge)
Date Climbed: June 17, 2001
Started from Guffy campground. Up and back on the North Backbone (Blue Ridge) trail. Ran out of water early on and had a slow day.
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Route Climbed: Bear Canyon/Bear Flat
Date Climbed: June 3, 2000
Backbacked up via Bear Flat with Will Felten. Slept at the summit. Next day descended via San Antonio Sierra Ski Hut. Will was tired so I walked from Manker Flats to the Baldy Village church to pick up our car.
Bill562 - Jan 13, 2008 11:06 pm Date Climbed: Jan 13, 2008
Baldy BowlClimbed with Dave Gonzalez. The snow conditions in the bowl were excellent. Winds made the walk to the summit above the chutes challenging. Had to fight traffic to get out of the trailhead. Sunday afternoon snow play for the LA crowd I guess...
Etaoin - Jan 12, 2008 1:30 am
Meant to be a Ski Hut to Backbone loopMy first substantial hike after a year living in Southern California and it was quite tough. The plan was to hike up the Ski Hut trail to the peak, then across the Backbone ridge and back down along the fire road (I don't think the lift was running). We ended up doing it backwards and the steep downhill on the Ski Hut trail cost me a toenail when all was said and done. It was a beautiful, cold day before the snow hit that year. It made be truly appreciate our wilderness areas. Let's hope there is plenty of rain and snow up there for the spring PCTers.
mtndonkey - Jan 3, 2008 9:17 pm
Fun SoCal HikeClimbed all seasons and winter is my favorite. On good snow years the most enjoyable route is directly up the bowl. In March 2005 I was able to snowboard all the way down to the Manker Flats trailhead via the ski hut trail. Weekdays are much better than weekends, sometimes you will have the mountain all to yourself.
Jackalopes - Dec 4, 2007 2:13 pm Date Climbed: Dec 20, 2006
Devils Backbone several times Ski Hut twiceDone it in all four seasons... Both routes are great. The Ski Hut trail a bit more challenging but easily done in 3/4 of a day. Devils Backbone give you the option of riding the ski lift down if you do it in winter, on a holiday or on a weekend.
hashref - Nov 27, 2007 8:10 pm Date Climbed: Aug 19, 2007
Via Devil's BackboneThis was my first hike in a long, long time and luckily it wasn't my last. I struggled quite a bit. The last 500' or so was nearly the end of me. I am at bit surprised I made it, but I am stubborned like that. I was so damn tired when I finally made it to the top, it don't think I really appreciated the scenery or even got a sense of accomplishment. I guess I was really intimidated the I got myself up there and now I had to get myself down. *groan*
Regardless, I certainly would attempt this again; if only to get a sense that I actually made it and to take in the vast expanse Baldy has to offer.
Schuetzenweber - Nov 21, 2007 12:17 am Date Climbed: Sep 21, 2007
Ski Hut RouteHiked it just before the storm. Beautiful day but windy up top. Saw mountaingoats just below the Hut. Spotted the Hellcats near the Summit. San Antonio Falls was in full effect!
ryanclear - Oct 29, 2007 9:38 pm Date Climbed: Sep 5, 2007
easy hike, want a harder routeIve done this a few times. It seems too easy when you take the ski lifts. Either use bear creek or park at the ski lifts and take the service road up. It is much more rewarding.
I went a few days after the first storm in california. It was beautiful non the less. Snow was pretty low, around 8000 feet. I made great time and the summit was beautiful being over the clouds. I have pics of my last trip.
eric.hannan - Oct 22, 2007 9:24 pm Date Climbed: Mar 17, 2007
To The TopMade it to the top on a day hike. One of the people with us didn't have enough water or food. I'm done hiking with people who are unprepared after this one. We also got off the trail a little bit, no big deal but on our way back to it we ran into a plane that had crashed into baldy many years ago. Great Hike! Good amount of snow!
The Tailor - Sep 17, 2007 10:46 pm Date Climbed: Sep 15, 2007
1st timeFirst climb and it was a great day. We could see the smoke from the fires in Big Bear.
SkydiveKen - Sep 3, 2007 11:58 pm Date Climbed: Sep 3, 2007
Run to the TopStart from the bottom of the ski lift run to Manker Flat and then up the fire road to the notch. Finish with Devils back bone to the top. Great day for a race weather was perfect. Must have been 500 people running today. Thanks to all the volunteers. Summit #10.
copeg - Aug 30, 2007 3:55 pm Date Climbed: Mar 13, 2004
Climbed a few years backClimbed up Baldy Bowl one year in early spring. Made it to the top of the bowl in high winds before I turned after hearing way too much whumping under the snow. A little scared, I bolted down the bowl on my skis.
lasvegaswraith - Aug 18, 2007 1:26 am
LA?Climbed several times, most recently in 2004 (finally signing the register) from the hut, Manker (is that a waterfall in LA?) and even took the lift once. This is a great escape from the empire.
BLT - Aug 16, 2007 1:57 pm Date Climbed: Sep 14, 2005
Baldy Bowl/ski hut trailBeen to the top many times, mostly via Baldy Bowl. I hope to do the old trail from Baldy Village some day but haven't yet.
Annie - Aug 6, 2007 6:52 pm Date Climbed: Jul 3, 2006
HotWas fun until the top when I started not feeling good (camp from sea level that morning). With Brian.
sistinas - Jul 24, 2007 5:15 pm Date Climbed: Jul 21, 2007
Baldy Notch to Devil's BackboneWent with my sister Tracy, her friend Will, and Z. We took the ski lift up to Baldy Notch. Gorgeous day, great hike. The trail and summit were a bit crowded but everyone was friendly. The smog and haze obscured views all around, but the Devil's Backbone trail is still gorgeous.
CookieMonster - Jul 20, 2007 1:57 am Date Climbed: Jul 1, 2007
My StairmasterAt this rate, I'll climb it ten times this year. I came down via Baldy Bowl after my last two summits. The eastern route, decending below the Devil's Backbone trail, is fast and well used. However, beware of the use trail heading to a steep and loose chute just before the Ski Hut Trail begins decending steeply to the SW. Oh well, I had to try it. Not recommended in the summer, but I'll be back to ski it in the winter.