Intense

Several back to back storms have hit Mt. Baldy over the past few weeks. I have been waiting for a break in the weather to head up with the skis but there never seems to be a break. I have heard reports second hand that there is up to 10 feet of snow on the mountain. Finally I broke down and bought some snow chains. The 8th would be the day no matter what the weather was.

I woke up at 5:00 AM and ate breakfast. I checked mtbaldy.com for the daily update. It showed up about 5:40 AM and said the roads were open so I headed out. It was raining pretty bad at my house and it only got worse as I approached the mountains. Once I was on Mountain Blvd (or Ave, I'm not sure which it is) it was very foggy. I couldn't see anything on the way up the mountain. There were rocks and mud all over the road. There was a constant down pour all the way to the parking area. The only benefit of this was it had melted all the snow off the roads so I didn't need the chains.

I got to the parking area just as it was getting light out. There was snow all the way to the road so I clipped into the skis and headed up the fire road. There was 2 feet on the fire road, and that is after the snow cat had gone by. The picture below was taken just past the gate.

One of the first things you see on the trail is the sign in box. Its about 3 1/2 feet of the ground in the summer. Well today it was about a foot above the snow. I was stoked. Tons of snow.

I saw a few minor slides on the way up but nothing to be too concerned about. The rain had me worried though. The snow was in bad shape and the conditions were perfect for some serious avalanches. Even with the bad weather I loved every minute of it. I was the second person on the trail and there was fresh snow everywhere - several feet deep. I have never seen so much snow on Baldy.

I move slow and I eventually got passed by a group of 2 skiers heading up to the hut. They were also concerned about slides but we all continued on. A short while later I was passed by a group of three Ausies with no snow gear other then their jackets. Visibility was low but I could see both groups a bit ahead of me on the trail. I came to this.

It was a pretty fresh and pretty major slide. It had left a path 30 feet wide and as far up and down the mountain as I could see. The brown streak is the center of the slide which was most of the way to the dirt. I sat for a minute and debated if I should continue. I took some pics of the snow while I was thinking. A giant branch broke and came crashing down about 20 feet from me. It didn't fall on the trail but that sound it hard to get out of your head.

I started off across the slide and headed up the trail. I could still see the groups ahead. The skiers in the lead had stopped to talk to some campers who setup their tent in a chute. Bad idea. The group of 3 caught up to them and then it happened. The hill broke loose and a huge section of snow shot down the mountain just missing the tent and FORTUNATELY!!! it missed all 8 of us in the area, although I was safely out of the way. The only thing it did manage to grab was a pack sitting next to the tent. The weight of the 7 people in the chute within a few feet of each other had triggered the slide. I don't know how everyone managed to get out. Me and the other 2 skiers ripped of our skins and headed down. This is no place to be if you can avoid it. The others continued up the mountain and I sure hope they are OK. Skiing down sucked. The snow was heavy and wet but my skis were still cutting in about 4-6 inches like it was powder. When we got to San Antonio Falls at the fire road we could see what had happened. A huge pile of snow had come to rest at the corner. It was the avalanche that just happened. It was so large I am not even sure the Snow Cat could get through (Mt. Baldy ski area uses this road some times to bring the Cat up and down the mountain). I should have stopped to take a picture of it but I just wanted to get out before I got hit by something.

I arrived back at my car safe and sound. I would rather spend a day in bad conditions on the mountain then never go at all. Today was intense and dangerous, probably the most dangerous alpine situation I have been in, but I still enjoyed the trip and can't wait to go back.