On Saturday morning Cary and I met up to climb Mt. Baldy. On Friday Baldy got 2 feet of snow which was exciting, especially since it's been such a dry winter this season. We got to the trailhead (Manker Flats) and start climbing by 6:30. There were only a few people ahead of us so the trail was not packed down and caused us to go a little slower than normal. By 10 we reached the Sierra Hut. After a short break we started up the bowl. We decided to climb a more direct route to the summit which involved breaking trail. For 900 feet we were climbing up the bowl taking turns breaking trail. We would sink in shin to knee high which is a pain when on a steep (relatively speaking) angle. After 2 hours of climbing up we were beat. At 9,100 feet and a mile short of the summit we called it a day. The most enjoyable part of the climb was glissading down the bowl. It was slow going due to the soft powder but it was still doable. It only took 15 minutes to get back down to the Hut. Once at the Hut the trail was packed down due to more traffic. This made for a fast pace back to the car. All in all we climbed 3,000 feet and traveled 5 miles. It was disappointing not to make the summit but it was still great to get out and enjoy some much needed snow.
How Cool! Beautiful (wet) snow, fog and snow sculpted trees - and I liked how you showed the trail breaking process (haven't seen that before). Pop tarts and glissading looked like the best part :-) Nice video, T. Sure looked like a real winter climb - finally.
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How Cool! Beautiful (wet) snow, fog and snow sculpted trees - and I liked how you showed the trail breaking process (haven't seen that before). Pop tarts and glissading looked like the best part :-) Nice video, T. Sure looked like a real winter climb - finally.
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