Southern California -- Mt. Baldy Late November '04

SoCal Rider

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Tony Crocker":2p0lei0l said:
I also detected a commercial scent to the opening post and thus posted my caveat response. I love the mountain but would never advance book a trip to Taos before February. If you see the base approaching 80 inches before then, go for it.

Mr. Crocker,

I thought for sure you'd post a Baldy report by now. Did you make it there after the last storm?
 
I was in Belize scuba diving with my younger, non ski-fanatic son all of Thanksgiving week. I have a friend who hit the powder day Nov. 22 and also talked with the Baldy reps last night at L.A. Ski Show.

The main runs on Thunder are in good shape, with a deep base of blown-in snow in Robin's (and probably Emile's). Chair 4 was open temporarily but got wind-stripped at the beginning of this week. The lower chair and some other exposed areas are frozen pretty solid and would be unsafe to ski now for ice. The good news is that the base will not deteriorate much with that kind of snow, especially in December and January.

So I think Baldy is restricted to 30-40% of terrain now vs. 90% at Big Bear (tons of snowmaking this week) and maybe 75% at Mt. High if they reopen East this weekend as they said they were planning last night. But with Baldy's base I would definitely jump on it if they get another substantial storm. This weekend's is fast moving and predicted only to be a couple of inches. But I would be ready just in case, because the forecasters totally missed the Nov. 21-22 storm.
 
Tony Crocker":3642hyhr said:
The lower chair and some other exposed areas are frozen pretty solid and would be unsafe to ski now for ice.

Around these parts we call that "packed powder." :wink: You southern California boys need to buy a couple of files and get to work! Builds character, ya know!
 
Tony Crocker":35e9d43o said:
I was in Belize scuba diving with my younger, non ski-fanatic son all of Thanksgiving week. I have a friend who hit the powder day Nov. 22 and also talked with the Baldy reps last night at L.A. Ski Show.

The main runs on Thunder are in good shape, with a deep base of blown-in snow in Robin's (and probably Emile's). Chair 4 was open temporarily but got wind-stripped at the beginning of this week. The lower chair and some other exposed areas are frozen pretty solid and would be unsafe to ski now for ice. The good news is that the base will not deteriorate much with that kind of snow, especially in December and January. ...

I could not make it up to a hill until Nov. 23, riding at Mountain High. Very good packed powder on the groomers and fun broken/tracked stuff on the natural runs that was still soft. I found some clean patches in the trees but most of the rideable lines were tracked.

Word from High is that East will reopen with the main top-to-bottom runs -- Goldrush and Sundance -- and the upper beginner runs. They've only made snow on those two runs and haven't groomed the others.

Consider this thread officially hijacked.
 
Tony Crocker":1orffsd5 said:
I was in Belize scuba diving with my younger, non ski-fanatic son all of Thanksgiving week. I have a friend who hit the powder day Nov. 22 and also talked with the Baldy reps last night at L.A. Ski Show.

The main runs on Thunder are in good shape, with a deep base of blown-in snow in Robin's (and probably Emile's). Chair 4 was open temporarily but got wind-stripped at the beginning of this week. The lower chair and some other exposed areas are frozen pretty solid and would be unsafe to ski now for ice. The good news is that the base will not deteriorate much with that kind of snow, especially in December and January. ...

I could not make it up to a hill until Nov. 23, riding at Mountain High. Very good packed powder on the groomers and fun broken/tracked stuff on the natural runs that was still soft. I found some clean patches in the trees but most of the rideable lines were tracked.

Word from High is that East will reopen with the main top-to-bottom runs -- Goldrush and Sundance -- and the upper beginner runs. They've only made snow on those two runs and haven't groomed the others.

Consider this thread officially hijacked.
 
I realized the thread needed to be split, but I only knew how to move it.

Baldy is steeper than most eastern mountains. Paradise at MRG is 33 degrees. Nightmare is 36 for about the same vertical. If you fall on Baldy's lower chair when it's icy, you're going to slide and hit something. If I were running the area, I wouldn't want the liability risk either. And I wouldn't have any part of Paradise either if it was frozen solid.
 
Western wuss. :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink: Come out here for a season and enjoy blue, grey and yellow ice...it builds "character"!
 
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