I'll be in LA to visit friends from April 8th to the 11th. I plan to take a couple days and climb Mt. Baldy via Devil's Backbone, pitch my tent on/near summit, and then descend into Baldy Bowl the next morning for a sunrise snow climb back to the summit.

Has anyone been up there lately? What is the current snow coverage and conditions on the Devil's Backbone Trail and in Baldy Bowl? Are snowshoes necessary, or can I leave at home? I'm bringing crampons, axe, and helmet.

The NOAA point forecast shows low temps above freezing this week. It sounds like rockfall is common in the narrow couloirs. How is the wide line on the left of the Bowl at this time of year?

Thanks in advance.

TacoDelRio wrote:I was up there today. The Bowl is in good condition, good in crampons. Plenty of snow coverage. Snowshoes aren't real necessary after mid-January-ish. Bring your helmet, axe, crampons, and have a good one.

Mmm - tacos. I lived in LA for 30 years before moving to Boulder. I miss the food more than anything. I'm as excited to hit Pepe's in Downey (hometown) for the tacos as I am Mount Baldy.

Thanks for the tip on the conditions. It will be good

Was up there on the 3rd and there was quite a bit of rockfall later in the morning

http://thehamm.net/2010/04/mt-baldy2/

I second what taco said, i was up there the last weekend of march, great conditions till about 11 in the morning so go fast! Also, watch for rockfall, not as much chance along the right side of the bowl (closest to the hut) snowshoes wont be neccessary and dont worry about crampons till the hut. Happy trails!

-CS

TacoDelRio wrote:This baby wanted me dead. Boogied out before it was too late.

I skied it with Robb on March 18. It was barely continuous at that time. Heard some rockfall off the ridge to skier's left (climber's right).
It wasn't really good that day anyway. The best skiing is off the Devil's Backbone, a bit east of Harwood. North facing (must have warm day for good corn) has deep snow and great angle all the way down to 7000'.

I saw how the north face of Harwood/DBB would hold snow for a long time. That was a great mountain to climb. Thank you to Taco, Harry, Tom and CS for the info. The rock fall was crazy! Those things started rolling by at 9 AM last Saturday. They sound like slow motion bullets. And they would cause some real hurt.

If interested, here's my trip report on the 14ers site...
http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=7810&cpgm=tripmain&ski=Include

I climbed Baldy on Wednesday and Saturday this week while in So Cal giving slideshows at A16 stores. Conditions are great up there although snow is melting fast. I was amazed to see the difference between Wednesday and Saturday. Unless storms slow things down it'll melt off fast now. A small avalanche came down sometime between those two days I was there too.

I found a radio on the trail. Get in touch and describe it to me and I'll be happy to give it back

Here is a trip report from a climb of Baldy Bowl yesterday.

Let me know if you find a digital camera in or at the bottom of the bowl.

Kurt, after I ran into you on Wednesday, I set off a small point slide in the west bowl on my descent. It momentarily freaked out the climber who was coming up the lower section. Although I couldn't see a facial expression because of a mask, I understood his/her thoughts...

EManBevHills wrote:Kurt, after I ran into you on Wednesday, I set off a small point slide in the west bowl on my descent. It momentarily freaked out the climber who was coming up the lower section. Although I couldn't see a facial expression because of a mask, I understood his/her thoughts...

Yeah I saw the slide. Here's a photo of it.

whoa! ive been right in that slides path before! I even learned to self arrest roped to that lone tree to the right of the slide! just out of curiosity, could a slide that size do any harm to anyone?

JJBrunner wrote:whoa! ive been right in that slides path before! I even learned to self arrest roped to that lone tree to the right of the slide! just out of curiosity, could a slide that size do any harm to anyone?

It couldn't bury anybody but the danger would be from the avalanche carrying you down and slamming into that lone tree you mention or a rock. In our avalanche courses we teach that approximately 25% of avalanche victims die from trauma as opposed to asphyxiation.

Did Baldy get any new snow from this last storm? Does it look like light hikers for tomorrow or is the bowl a crampon day?
Thanks,
Dave

ridgeline wrote:Did Baldy get any new snow from this last storm? Does it look like light hikers for tomorrow or is the bowl a crampon day?
Thanks,
Dave

I think high up they received 6 inches or so. I don't think I would ever do the bowl without crampons; it's pretty steep near the top.