Hiked: 1/4/2019
Distance: 8.8 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 10064' (3067m)
Prominence: 6224'
Elevation Gain: 4093'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 3.27
Round trip time: 8 hours
Recommended water: 96 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass
Difficulty: Strenuous
Rod and I drove up to Manker Flats to attempt a winter ascent of Mount San Antonio (Baldy). My last attempt in 2015 ended at the Ski Hut with calf cramps and freezing hands. I made several adjustments to my gear, adding mitts and two vacuum bottles with soup and hot chocolate. I also found a small plastic tool that let me operate my tiny point and shoot camera with gloves on. With 20-25 mph winds at the summit, wind chills were expected to hover around 20F. It was 41F at the trail head. We started up at 9:00 AM with several other groups. [Note: all high rez photos are Rod's]
The Ski Hut trail was a grind from the start and we both had to stop after a short distance to peel off a layer. Managing your body temp in freezing weather is a delicate balancing act. You don't want to get too hot or sweat too much because your sweat will freeze as soon as you stop moving. The trail was dry all the way to the ski hut, but snow was abundant at upper elevations. The ski hut was open, and the host (Dan) let us look around inside. This was the first time I'd been inside the hut. I was surprised how large and well appointed it was. There were twenty or so bunks in an upstairs room I didn't know existed and more in a basement area. It can probably accommodate more than thirty people at a time (all sharing one outhouse). We stayed inside the hut to eat and make adjustments to our gear. We filled up on clean water as well. As we traversed across the bowl, we reached the first section of snow and ice on the trail and stopped to put on traction. Rod had full crampons, while I rocked microspikes. About half of Baldy Bowl was dry, but snow was solid on the south slope trail.
Telegraph Peak
Ontario Peak
Upstairs bunks in the ski hut
The two steepest sections of the trail are above the ski hut. The snow had a thin crust of ice on it. We moved slowly up the first steep section to a flat area above the bowl. The more direct sun exposure had melted most of the snow and it was muddy and slushy. The poor conditions continued up the second steep section, and we took several short breaks to add/remove layers as the wind dictated. It's a royal pain to dig things out of winter pack with bulky gloves. Cold is my kryptonite and I've learned not to expose my bare hands on a freezing mountain. Once my hands freeze, they almost never recover. Full snow coverage returned for the final half mile to the summit and the wind started whipping. We were completely exposed to the wind on the final section (it was Baldy after all). Our goal was to get to the summit, take a few quick photos, then start back down. A couple of groups ahead of us had the same idea and they were headed down as we reached the top. Nobody stayed on the summit for long and we had it to ourselves. On the summit, my hands and toes started to numb. After our photos and an obligatory fist bump, we set a quick pace down. Once out of the wind, the descent was very pleasant. We took a short side trip to look down the Bowl from one of the craggy spots. All nearby routes looked intense. As we got down near the Ski Hut, one of Rod's crampons came off, but since it wasn't needed much longer, he alternated sliding and stepping until we got there. We went back into the hut to give Dan a report on conditions, then finished our descent. Winter mountaineering is not my jam, but snow has a special beauty I appreciate. I wish there had been some rime ice left in the trees.
Poor conditions above the bowl
Approaching the summit
West Baldy
End of the day in San Antonio Canyon
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