Mt. Baldy this Thursday (the 30th)

pnoom

pnoom

New member
I was just checking out weather.com's 10 day forecast to get an update on the status of this big storm coming up (I hope).

Looks like there's a break in the snow on the 30th and the 1st. Hrmm, can anyone else see fresh powder at Baldy in their future?

Damn, I really hope this storm pulls through and unloads on us here in So Cal!! We really need it. My first day of the season at Mammoth was awesome and I want to ride again really bad but I don't want to go ice skating on some hard packed granular, sharing runs at places like Mt. High with spoiled teenagers. I really need a Baldy fix!! Who's with me?

Also, for future reference, does anybody know how extensive Baldy's snowmaking system is? I know it must be primitive compared to the guns at Bear or Mt. High, but can they cover a decent area? Can they do a half way decent job of covering up all that frozen snow? I'm actually surprised they are still open at this point. I would have thought they would have closed back down weeks ago.
 
The sheltered areas like Emile's, Robin's and the trees between Skyline and Robin's will all preserve the snow well, particularly this time of year when the sun is low. My friend hit the powder day Nov. 22 and last skied Baldy Dec. 6 I think. He reported the base as thin in areas and recommended old skis. The snowmaking is portable, but I suspect it's used mainly for the beginner area and the base of Thunder that gets traffic. It can be used on Robin's and Skyline, but the lower part of Skyline is too exposed and was already too rocky on Dec. 6.

Your instincts are correct. Wait for at least 2 feet of snow. From what I hear next week's snow is coming from the north, more at Tahoe than Mammoth, and just 6-8 inches max here in SoCal mtns. I'm afraid the record November start has mostly been lost. Christmas here looks very "normal" to me.
 
I'll take that 6-8 inches any day! Hell, this is So Cal, that's pretty much the best we can expect anyways. Anything over 5 inches and I'm going to Baldy. Even if it isn't that great, I will still feel better about giving my money to a place like Baldy than giving it to Mt. High or Bear Mtn so they can continue advertising to the type of element I'd rather not share the slopes with.

Even though it's probably far fetched, I'd like to think that the money I spend at Baldy would go towards developing Stockton Flats or improving their snowmaking capabilities. I'd really hate for Baldy to join the ranks Waterman or Krakta.

Long live the king!
 
6-8 inches on Baldy should make the core area of Thunder enjoyable skiing, but it is thin and you will hit something, so bring old equipment.

Baldy's management has figured out that they should never borrow money for improvements. That's why they want an equity investor before developing the backside. I asked at L.A. Ski Show (when the situation was looking good after the record November) if it was possible to make enough money in a big year like 1998 to fund some of the development. The answer was "Maybe the one chair down Stockton from the top of 4, but not the whole plan (Lytle Creek road, new base area, etc.)".

For us fanatics, that one chair is what we really want, but I think it's a longshot for them to have a long enough stretch of favorable weather to pay for that chair. Recall that 1998, great as it was, didn't really get going at Baldy until February. I think they need 2 or 3 decent seasons in a row, like 1991-93.

FYI I have a great deal of respect for Snow Summit management and a fair amount for the people that took over Mt. High in 1997. Given the dry and daytime warm climate of Big Bear, I am usually amazed at the quality of snow they make and maintain. Mt. High does not have the water capacity to match Big Bear, but they do an intelligent job of triage on the terrain they have, enough to keep many people coming back.

As far as the "element" to whom they market, that is the volume audience in SoCal now. We hear a lot of whining on this board about ski resorts only caring about the wealthy. Once Snow Summit's appeal shifted to the young jibbers, they CUT their non-holiday lift ticket price $10 (now $49), and instituted an age 13-21 price $10 below that (now $39). Compare price and product to what the people back east are paying for their tilted ice skating rinks and I think Big Bear looks pretty good. So good that even Mammoth had to respond with the Value Passes.
 
I'm up late right now, finishing up some work.

I browsed over to the webcams at Bear Mtn and Mt. High and the snow is DUMPING!! On the deck cam at Bear, the deck was pretty much dry a few minutes ago. I checked the updated cam again after a few mintues and the deck was completely WHITE! It looked like almost an inch fell in a matter of minutes. On the Mt. High cams, you can view a constant streaming image and you can clearly see huge snow flakes coming down hard and plenty!!! It may not keep dumping like that, but I REALLY hope it does. I also hope the snow level stays low enough to bury the parking lot at Baldy.

Once again, I am definitely hitting Baldy this Thursday!!

I can't wait, this storm is promising to leave behind a winter wonderland!! I really really hope it pulls through (and it looks like it is!!).

Keep your fingers crossed, fellow So. Cal'ers. Screw New Years Eve parties, I'm getting as much vertical of powder as I can this holiday season!
 

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Just checked the updated Mt. Baldy online report (http://www.mtbaldy.com/live.php)
and they are reporting 6-12" OF NEW SNOW this morning!!!!

All I can say is HELL YEAH!!! I really really hope it doesn't stop coming down for at least another whole day. I know this storm started over warm waters, but I really hope the snow level is low enough to adequately cover the chair 1 runs down to the parking lot at Baldy. In any case, Thunder Mountain will be in great condition as the snow level won't go that high, I hope.

Anyways, I'll see anyone who might be there at Baldy on Thursday!
 
Baldy reports 6-12 new this morning (good) but chains are not currently required (bad). I really rained hard this morning (good) but as I look west from my 20th floor window toward Santa Monica Bay the sky is blue in that direction and the rain stopped an hour ago (bad).

The snow level will drop and sometimes the storms stall out over the mountains, but at the moment it looks like this storm, though intense, is moving through fast. If you want powder at Baldy, you had better go tomorrow. I think it's questionable that the lower chair will be skiable and Thunder will get tracked out fast under those conditions.

If the storms stalls and drops 2+ feet total at the base of Baldy I would consider taking a day off, but that looks unlikely from what I see out the window.
 
6-12" is pefectly fine with me.

After all, I've grown up skiing/boarding in So. Cal so my expectations aren't very high to begin with. Hell, 4" of powder would be fine by me. As I get older, I tend to be more "snobish" about only going when there's good conditions, but there's a point where I just have to say "F- it" and go.
 
Direct call to Baldy with following results:

They will not open today, mainly due to wind.
1 foot new at the bottom, but there has been occasional rain too.

My recommendation remains: If you want the powder from this storm, you better go tomorrow if they are open.

I will wait for the next storm (expected Friday) to add some more base, and probably go Saturday. New Year's Day is often a good time to ski, particularly early in the morning.
 
Baldy storm total is now 18-30 inches. Chains are just now starting to be required, so I would expect snow at the base to be wet, and maybe not open for skiing. I just called again and they expect to open around noon.

I still expect the core area of Thunder to get tracked out this afternoon. I think it is possible that some parts of the mountain may open tomorrow that are not open today. And it is still snowing, at least for awhile.

This weekend will be the first New Year's Day of full operation of SoCal ski areas since 1993. http://members.aol.com/crockeraf/scalhist.htm
 
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