Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Conditions on Mt. Baldy

Does anyone know the conditions on Mt. Baldy? I drive by there every morning and there is snow on top, but looks like it's not too bad.. I figure crampons should get me to the summit. has anyone done it lately?

Where to find some relevant info:

http://www.mtbaldy.com/live.php
http://www.mtbaldy.com/weatherframe.htm

Candace:
I hiked Baldy last saturday, via the ski hut trail. A few patches of snow are left at the hut. The only problem area is the shaded parts of the trail after you climb out of the bowl up to the ridge; it is a little icy and slippery in spots. I brought instep crampons, but never used them. If you use poles they give you enough pull up to get past it. Once up to the ridge, it was easy going all the way to the summit. On the northeast side, going down the devil's backbone, there were a couple of knee deep powdery runs which would have been fun on skis, but not long enough to make humping them up there worth it. The ski lift is operating, so for $5 you can skip the fire road on the way down, if you want. Have fun!

Hi Spike,

I tried to find the ski hut trial off the fireroad last year but was unable to locate it given the description I had. Could you elaborate on it's location? Either I'm blind or it's really hard to spot....

Michael

The fire road proceeds roughly north towards San Antonio Falls and then does a hairpin turn to the south. After 1/4 mile, it makes another turn to the east. The Ski Hut trail splits off about 0.13 mile after this turn. The GPS co-ordinates from Topo! are 442137E by 3792089N. The Ski Hut trailhead is not marked. It starts up a steep dirt embankment at some 30 to 40 degrees and is easy to miss. Once you are past the first switchback the trail improves greatly and is an obviously well maintained trail. Only the start is rough and hard to see if you are not looking close.

Michael,
The ski hut trail leaves the fire road a little ways past San Antonio Falls. After you make the sharp right turn away from the falls, it seems like about 1/4 mile and you'll see a lone dead pine tree on the right. The road turns left at that point and you need to start looking for the trail, which will be on your left, climbing steeply off the road. After you find it, you'll wonder how you ever missed it before, but people do all the time. There is no sign or marker, but up about 100 yds (not visible from the road) there is a sign in box. I seem to remember a pretty good description of the trail in Robinson's "Trails of the Angeles". The only other sketchy part of the trail is getting across Baldy Bowl. You are hiking on boulders and the trail is not very distinct. Just look up and aim for the slope which you will switchback up to gain the ridge. Good luck!

Thanks Spike and Richard!

The one time I tried it I missed it going up, and paid particular attention to finding it on the way down, but missed it yet again. Your directions are much clearer than what I had, so should have no problem when I try it again.

Michael

All this talk of the semi secret ski hut trail makes me curious as to how long this trail is to the top of Mt Baldy, as compared to just taking the fire road to the "Notch" and catching the "Devils Backbone" to the 10049' peak which I thought was about 13 to 14 miles round trip.

The ski hut trail is listed as 4 miles each way, the shortest and steepest way to the top. If you go that way, following the directions here posted, you will find it. It is more of a small type thin use trail going up and to the left. The first 20-30 feet are not obvious, like a thin path mostly parallel to the big road you are walking on. If you miss the turn off and go another bend or two you will be able to look right down and see the Mt. Baldy ski parking lot. If do you have gone too far.

This summer we walked the road to the ski lift area, following it over the Devil's backbone and came down the ski hut trail. That is always an option. Kind of an interesting way to go.

Thanks Tiffany,

I really like your idea of taking the ski hut trail on the way down after taking the fire road up.

From the top of Baldy, if you are facing Edwards Air Force base Im guessing you break off to the left to catch this Ski hut trail?

The ski hut trail is not semi-secret. Lots of people use it. It is on the standard topo maps.

When you get to San Antonio Falls on the fire road, you're close. You go one more straightaway, turn to the left and go about halfway on the next one. The trail is easy to miss because it makes a sharp angle with the road. But it's pretty hard to fail to find it if you take along a 7.5' topo map. At some point, it'll be obvious that you have gon too far. The trail is more visible going the other way, especially since you'll be looking carefully at that point!

If someone is at the ski hut, you can easily get a tour.

The hike from Manker Flats to the peak is 4000' in 4 miles, a good honest hike. If you like that one, try the trail from Baldy Village to the peak -- 6000' in 6 miles.

Some people prefer to take the ski hut trail down or up (depending on how much steep terain bothers your legs on the way down) If you take the road up to the Notch you turn left when you get there. There are a couple buildings up there. There are trails and roads all going upward toward the left (westward). They all merge at the top of the ski lift. Once there the ridge narrows and trail winds its way mostly on the top...views are nice.

If you start at the Baldy parking lot there is a lift going up toward the notch. That is were the natural canyon is. If you are in the parking lot it is over to the right. There is a small use trail going straight up which stays mostly under the lift. It also goes up to the notch. It is straight and steeper but shorter then the longer winding road. The advantage of starting in the parking lot is it is 400 feet higher.

If you take a topo map of the area directions will all make more sense.

One advantage of going up and down different trails..you get to see more area and there is a 2nd peak over on the Devils backbone trail.

Last June I hiked up the road, then to the summit via the Devil's Backbone. Having never hiked Baldy before, we just picked that way because it seemed longer. On top we met some folks who had come up the Hut Trail, so we headed down that way for variety. I agree it was a really nice loop, and we figured from maps and ranger info the round trip was about 10 miles. I think going up the Hut Trail would be good prep for something like the MR - and as others have said, even better from Baldy Village.

Yesterday we did Baden-Powell from Dawson Saddle. We were in the snow/ice from about 8200 feet up, except on the south side of the ridge. A couple of places were knee deep, but not enough snow to ski. We had done a loop on Mt Lowe on Wednesday. Each day shorts with no shirts, brilliant in December. Today I have "good soreness" I refer to it as I'm sore from having fun, but it is a good wake up call as I should have been more active this past few months. An 8 mile hike should not make me sore. I'm a pathetic 41 year old

I've never seen the Ski Hut way listed as 4 miles one way. Every guide I've seen lists it as 10 miles. I would almost be certain it's 10 miles round trip based on doing it many times and the resulting time from me and many friends.

Let's look at the standard guidebooks for the area:

John Robinson, "Trails of the Angeles" (1998 Edition) lists it as 9 miles and 3800' (hike 93).

Jerry Schad, "Afoot and Afield on Los Angeles County" (1995 edition) lists it as 8.4 miles, 3900' (hike A-12-8).

I measured 8.4 miles on that route last February using GPS. I measured 4.5 miles one way on an earlier trip (down via the backbone trail and fire road from the ski lifts). Those include a small walk from the car to the gate (and return). I have Topo map tracks from several hikes that averate about 4 miles one way.

I have never seen it listed as 10 miles round trip. Based on all of the above, I'd call it 8-9 miles.

It's a great hike in any case.

To SpellCheck:

I meant "average" not "averate."

:-)

Alank, thanks for the info, it seems you're right, it's not 10 miles roundtrip. Many rangers over the years have told me from where you park your car (and then walk up the long semi-road) it's 10 miles roundtrip. Is it 9 miles from where the ski hut trail forks off?

The measurements I referred to begin at the gate at the beginning of the dirt road. From there it's ~1/2 mile to the trail.

I think the hike feels longer than it is because it gains 1000'/mile after a moderate opening segment.

AlanK, I've done Baldy all seasons and many times. It's a great workout for Whitney. I also do lots of GPS work and trail mapping on topographic maps. Your GPS measurement for Baldy appears correct, except your GPS does not measure vertical heights on its readouts for overall trip mileages and mapping. Even though your GPS can give you approximate elevations at any given point on a trip, it does not tabulate or accumulate travel distance in the vertical plane--only the horizontal. Therefore, you must add 0.74 miles x 2 (3,900' x 2) to your trip mileage, which, according to your own GPS, comes to about 9.9 miles (8.4 + (2 x 0.74). If your GPS track log were to add vertical mileages to your track mapping, you would not be able to accurately superimpose the track on a topographic map. This is similar to measuring lines (trails, roads, etc.) on topos. You measure the horizontal lengths, then add the vertical components, either up or down, to arrive at total mileage.