Mt. Baldy, CA: Late season strategies?

[jkamien]

Mt. Baldy is saying that they will be open until May 7. The current temperature graph (nice addition to the website, huh?) suggests that their prediction of getting 4-6" of snow today might be true, or just wishful thinking with the current 100% humidity and 34 degrees. It's certainly a chilly day in Sherman Oaks for April 26. If Baldy gets any snow, it'll be pretty wet cover, but good for the base. They claim Thunder is in great shape.

Does anyone want to contribute strategies for Baldy this late?

What time should you get to the parking lot to hit Thunder at exactly the right time (i.e., when it begins to soften and before it gets too mushy)?

Will South Bowl (SB) remain nice all day?

What about the traverse out from SB? Does it stay covered, or do you need to hike or use rock skis?

What gets the earliest sun and the latest sun?

I hope to go Sunday or Monday. Look for a strip of green plaid cloth hanging from a Dakine backpack.

 

[Tony Crocker]

It varies greatly by daily weather, so I agree that the temperature data is helpful. A year ago April 16 had close to optimal conditions for spring skiing: http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards ... .php?t=973 .

I've been up there a this time in other years where it hasn't frozen overnight, so I would not use the 10AM start a year ago as a rule of thumb. It usually pays to be at Baldy early. If it turns out to be too early you wait until the snow softens. If you're too late you can't correct that.

The usual early strategy is to ski chair 4 while waiting for Thunder to soften, but I'm sure chair 4's cover is long gone by now this year. The base never got over about 4 feet this season, so I would be skeptical of current cover on anything without sheltered north exposure, Herb's and Andy's drops off the Fire Road for example.

There are probably decent skiable lines in South Bowl, but some of the traverse back will be burned off and you'll have to walk. Check it out once and decide whether the walk is worth it.