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Above the Clouds of Pompeii

Peak Cucamonga Peak
Group N/A
Trailhead Icehouse Canyon

Freezing, slippery, but totally worth every second.

5 Responses

  1. Hey Issac! Great photo! Can you share a little more about your hike? Was it a solo hike? What time did you start? What were the trail conditions like? Any special gear required?

    From my experience, the hike up Icehouse Canyon can usually be managed in snow with microspikes and trekking poles, although if there is no path already broken and conditions or hard ice on the upper slopes, crampons may be necessary.

    Beyond Icehouse Saddle is a different story. The traverse of Ontario is on a STEEP slope. One slip and it is not a good day. I’m really curious what conditions you encountered back there.

  2. Evening Jeff,

    FYI, the following Cucamonga account(1/10/17) was prior to the last snow fall. I returned this morning(1/14/17) for Mt Baldy and there’s a couple fresh inches up past 8000ft.

    Solo hike started at 4AM, finished round 9:45. The trail was 80% clear of snow and ice up to Icehouse Saddle. Someone brave enough could handle it in tennis shoes. Conditions immediately worsened past the saddle, you are correct – it was a whole other world. 1 to 2 feet of snow, but frozen over on top(~6AM at this point). I wasn’t sinking, so snowshoes weren’t ‘required’. Unsure about crampons, never tried em.To be honest, this was my first experience using microspikes and they saved the trip for me. Spent a quarter mile sliding till I decide to put them on, felt like walking on superglue afterwards(Katoola). Aside, brought hiking poles but didn’t feel the need to use them. I’m not a huge fan of poles to begin with tho. :s

    You’ll might also skip a few switchbacks, like me, by following the footsteps of someone prior pioneering a path into the unknown(aka the trail is invisible). This was my first time attempt to the summit past the saddle, so I wasn’t sure of the path. Ended up managing by following others before and continuing to push upwards.

    Odds are the trail will be better defined by this point, so navigation wont be as difficult anymore. Only last note is to be sure and have something to shield your face/eyes in those morning hikes. Learned my lesson, it was like sand blasters one my cheeks. (°ロ°)

    Thanks for asking,
    Isaac

  3. Thanks for the details, Issac! Microspikes are a great tool that can make a HUGE difference in slippery conditions.

    Have you considered taking a winter mountaineering course? REI conducts them as well as others, and it’s a great way to learn how to safely handle trails in conditions like this.

  4. I went up to attempt Cucamonga with two buddies this Saturday 1/14/17 and we could not find the trail after the saddle, we tried making our own trail but decided to turn around because of the conditions and just couldn’t find the way with all the snow. So much snow from the week.

  5. Hello Gentlemen, with the amount of snow we received from the past storms, would you say the trail passed the saddle to the peak is not quite a good time to trek? Not sure how many hikers outside of this challenge did blaze a trail already… Thx

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