Anyone on Baldy this past weekend? Curious where the snow
starts... specifically on the Bear Flats route.
Any info appreciated.

Rick

The snow started at the narrows and is continuous from there on. There was lots of snow around the summit, but it has been above freezing day and night.
The Ski Hut trail is clear of snow until beyond the Hut.

Frank,

Thanks for the update.. I'm not familiar with
"the narrows" Can you elaborate.
Thanks again.
Rick

Sorry, I did not mean to be vague, others call it the narrows. It is a treeless ridge you cross maybe 2/3 of the way, around 9,000 feet more or less. If it is icy it can be dangerous. I had no camera last Saturday, here are some photos from the past.

A picture from the Ski Hut trail.

A photo by Shin from Feb this year with snow.

Any predictions on when the Manker Flats/ski hut route will be safe to hike without ice axe and crampons?

Brent N

No need for crampons or ice axe. Here are photos from April 21st (today). Very windy at the Summit.

The Bowl. [img][IMG]http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/h381/Jeffrey_Doty/IMG_5255.jpg[/img][/img]

Left side of the Bowl. Walked right up.


Just below the summit.

Devilsbackbone,


Heading to the backbone

Went up to Baldy via Bear Cyn.today with Richard and Shin. Met frank(asbufra)
at Manker and again meeting Shin and I on West Baldy. Richard tagged Hardwood and met us on Baldy summit..40deg. on summit at 11am..
Great time today with all.. bitchen fog and cloud designs around the summit, camera just doesn't get it...

Rick if you haven't been up to Bear flats I hope this helps...

mark
Bear Cyn. to Baldy 4-23-2011

Nice Pics, thanks for sharing! No fog for me, only clouds. I think the camera did a good job of "getting it". Reminds me of the scene on 13th warrior when the fog bank is coming for them.

Loads of fun with Shin and Mark. Clouds and fog were fantastic... The boot ski down to the Baldy/Harwood Saddle made the long drive down that much better. Some photos at the link below.

Wow, the snow’s really melting quickly and with the heat wave this week, the north side white-stuff will be clearing pretty soon.

RP, great photos and thanks for recommending the SONY sweep-pano…….love that feature

Shin-san, missed you at the gym on Thurs…..the plastic awaits for the return of Shin

Snow melting quickly? It depends on where you are viewing the snow. From my prospective, there is more snow on the north slopes than I expected. Saturday, the upper canyons of Ice House Canyon to Bighorn Peak were solidly covered at 7,000'. It appeared the northwest ridge to Cucamonga was also covered, which mean the trail up from Cucamonga Saddle is totally covered.

If you are planning a trip to the high peaks from the north you will still need to bring ice axe and crampons.

I would not call the temperature this week a heat wave, just seasonable warm. Nothing that is going to 400 to 500' off the snow level in a week.

So, is my reading of this weekend's comments correct that the trail itself from Manker Flats to the summit is now free from snow but that approaches from the North Side of the Mountain still require an ice axe and crampons?

Brent N

Hey Richard, Its amazing how fast the snow melts once the ground is exposed and can absorb the heat. I can't believe our photos of the summit were taken only 3 days apart.

Mark, Shin, Richard, It was nice to see you all and enjoy two summits with you.

Brent: The Manker Flats trail still has lots of snow once you pass the ski hut. There is deep snow in the trees to the left where the summer trail goes and snow covering most of the summit area. I believe the north side will have snow into July.

Ice axe and crampons are a personal decision, many people do not use them, but there are a couple of short steep snow covered sections where it is helpful to have extra traction.

I hiked up from Manker Flats on Friday. Yeah, there was snow on the trail above the ski hut, but it was so soft that the crampons never came out of the pack on the way up or coming back down.

Baldy still has snow on top, but it may not last too long, check out Sunday's pics:

Sunday on Baldy

It is amazing how fast the snow is going...

My guess is that about 6 inches melted between SAT and SUN (looking at MI's photos).

RG, we (I) thought we might run into you while we were up there. Glad you agree regarding the Sony. (Can't beat the panos that GM and ex-Axeman stitch together, but I don't really like spending time with PS anymore.)

Not Intended To Be A Factual Statement (NITBAFS)

I was waiting for AlanK to chime in with the un-official NASA position that the rate of snow melt is pretty much independent to “prospective”, perspective, and or point of view of the observer…..but I couldn’t help myself

RP, I did Bear Canyon 2 weekends ago and it was cool enough this past weekend to give J-Tree one more visit before it starts broiling out there (NITBAFS). With all the snow melting, I might give the Big Baldy Loop a go this coming weekend (in trail-runners)

Damn, making fun of the dyslexic for sport, eh...just kidding.

Everything is individual comfort level. I've gone up the to the 8,900' ridge from the Ski Hut with crampons and axe while others have done it utilizing no tools.

Many people get the impression snow is off the mountains when they see little to none while driving along the 10 and 210...plan their trips accordingly and are surprised when they can't get to their destination.

If you want to wait a weekend and do it at a more leisurely pace, I've let Shin know we're doing it on the 7th of May.