| Peak | Mt Baldy |
|---|---|
| Group | Solo |
| Trailhead | Manker Flats |
The 1st Mt Baldy summit on snow and what an experience, learning new hiking skills along the way…
Not too many hikers on Sunday, perhaps due to the recent avalanche on Baldy Bowl injuring 3 hikers.
I was met with varied snow conditions – deep powder, wet & thin snow and ice. Forecast were calling for light winds at around 20 Mph; however, the winds were more like 40+ Mph.
Most hikers took the traditional route via the upper Baldy Bowl Trail to/from the Ski Hut. There were a handful of daring hikers that went up the bowl despite avalanche warnings.
I mainly hiked on microspikes and a new pair of MSR Lightning Ascent snowshoes, which for the most part clawed its way up icy steep slopes & made it possible for me to plow through deep snow.
Snowshoeing is a good workout. I wish I had crampons though, because the descent on ice could have made my trek down on ice quicker & more sure-footed. Instead, I had to opt going down more gentle slopes made up of wet/thin & broken up powdery snow that even on snowshoes made me slip & slide… Got so fatigued that I glissaded at one point.
Overall, it was a good day for a hike on snow… meeting & relating with other hikers on the descent.
Not sure if you all know Sam Kim, the famed 78-year old who hiked Mt Baldy 740+ times… well if you do, I got a chance to meet him on the trail. He is sure an inspiration for this hiker…
