jojo_obrien
Member
Hello all. Just got back from Mt. Baldy. I don't write reports as well as Crocker, but I'll give it a shot.
Left Claremont around 7:25 AM. They had the roads fairly well sanded, but as I started going up the switchbacks, just as I had suspected, many folks had spun out. I navigated around them (although I have a RWD Tacoma , NOT 4x4). Rule #1 about driving in the snow: never lose momentum!
Got to the parking lot around 7:55 AM. Got my ticket, and headed up chairlift #1. All the way up, it appeared to be about 1 - 2 inches of soft snow on top of straight bulletproof hardpack. You all know how Baldy can get like that. I looked at the trees and could tell that there was little snow: the trees had that complete "ice" look and very little "snow" or even "heavy snow" look. I was hoping for the best....but was quite skeptical.
Got to the top, and , as always, typical Baldy, nothing was open (8:20 AM). Not even the beginner lift. An hour passed, and after hiking up #4, I took a few turns on the beginner run (around 9:30 AM). Went back into the Notch, and by then, a crowd was amassing.
10:00 NOTHING open. Starting to get restless. I couldn't be completely sure, but it sure seemed like the "6-12 inches" on top was bull s*it. Additionally, it was gusting up to about 25 mph, so any light freshies seemed to be blown away, exposing the "rain-hardened bullet-proof base."
I skied down to the beginner lift again, starting to get anxious, and sure enough, there's a long line at the bottom. Chairlift is supposed to be down for an hour. Welcome to Baldy. Hiked back up to the Notch, got my backpack, and took the lift back down. The runs down to the parking lot were completely iced-over (maybe 1 - 2 inch), so I ate my lunch going down chairlift #1.
I got down to the bottom and asked for a voucher. Kindly enough, I was given a voucher for another day.
If you were watching the temperature last night like I did, you saw it was 31 degrees at the notch almost all day. That doesn't amount to light snow, and it is surely not the 20 deg F temperature that dropped 4 feet of fresh last week. Maybe, just maybe, South Bowl had some good spots....not really sure, but I figured if I waited till they opened up 3, it might take 2 hours to get down the hill. Or worse, stuck on chairlift #1 (you know how Baldy can do that with high capacity).
I don't think I've ever seen as many people coming UP the hill when I left at 12:00. It was bumper to bumper coming UP the hill from parking lot all the way PAST the Village (4500 ft elevation). Unreal. I figured a cluster---- later in the day......
I think Big Bear might be the call tomorrow, or even Mt. High East (perhaps I'll try tomorrow).
I doubt Waterman was much better. Any thoughts???
P.S. I will upload pics soon.....
Left Claremont around 7:25 AM. They had the roads fairly well sanded, but as I started going up the switchbacks, just as I had suspected, many folks had spun out. I navigated around them (although I have a RWD Tacoma , NOT 4x4). Rule #1 about driving in the snow: never lose momentum!
Got to the parking lot around 7:55 AM. Got my ticket, and headed up chairlift #1. All the way up, it appeared to be about 1 - 2 inches of soft snow on top of straight bulletproof hardpack. You all know how Baldy can get like that. I looked at the trees and could tell that there was little snow: the trees had that complete "ice" look and very little "snow" or even "heavy snow" look. I was hoping for the best....but was quite skeptical.
Got to the top, and , as always, typical Baldy, nothing was open (8:20 AM). Not even the beginner lift. An hour passed, and after hiking up #4, I took a few turns on the beginner run (around 9:30 AM). Went back into the Notch, and by then, a crowd was amassing.
10:00 NOTHING open. Starting to get restless. I couldn't be completely sure, but it sure seemed like the "6-12 inches" on top was bull s*it. Additionally, it was gusting up to about 25 mph, so any light freshies seemed to be blown away, exposing the "rain-hardened bullet-proof base."
I skied down to the beginner lift again, starting to get anxious, and sure enough, there's a long line at the bottom. Chairlift is supposed to be down for an hour. Welcome to Baldy. Hiked back up to the Notch, got my backpack, and took the lift back down. The runs down to the parking lot were completely iced-over (maybe 1 - 2 inch), so I ate my lunch going down chairlift #1.
I got down to the bottom and asked for a voucher. Kindly enough, I was given a voucher for another day.
If you were watching the temperature last night like I did, you saw it was 31 degrees at the notch almost all day. That doesn't amount to light snow, and it is surely not the 20 deg F temperature that dropped 4 feet of fresh last week. Maybe, just maybe, South Bowl had some good spots....not really sure, but I figured if I waited till they opened up 3, it might take 2 hours to get down the hill. Or worse, stuck on chairlift #1 (you know how Baldy can do that with high capacity).
I don't think I've ever seen as many people coming UP the hill when I left at 12:00. It was bumper to bumper coming UP the hill from parking lot all the way PAST the Village (4500 ft elevation). Unreal. I figured a cluster---- later in the day......
I think Big Bear might be the call tomorrow, or even Mt. High East (perhaps I'll try tomorrow).
I doubt Waterman was much better. Any thoughts???
P.S. I will upload pics soon.....
