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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 23, 2017 - 12:14pm PT
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From Largo:
"I grew up kicking around all over Baldy, and was raised in Upland, the town just below where you drive up to the peak. Easy access makes for accidents for people who are totally unprepared to be anywhere near the mountains, or any place where risk management is required. Should have died up there myself on 1,000 occasions. Sorry for whoever got hurt."
Mr. Long,
I, too, was weaned on Mt. Baldy. Did my first self-arrest off of the Devil's Backbone in 1961. Celebrated New Year's Eve on the summit in 1965 with my business partner, Tom Limp. His comment that evening, "Do you think it strange that we are the only ones up here?"
More than once did I rise from the dinner table and ask my kids, aged 11, 9, and 8, "Want to spend the night in the Sierra Club cabin?" Answer was always yes. After a night in the cabin, we'd slog up the bowl the next morning. See below.
Check out the neat little mountain boots.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Mar 23, 2017 - 01:16pm PT
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Never had a chance to do Baldy despite living in socal.
San B., hiked it from the backside at 14. We drove up the same morning and huffed it to the summit, didn't eat, didn't drink water. Got sick. But after that, we ended up backpacking more each year along with climbing more. Bunch of weirdos. Why couldn't we just buy our hot blonde wives, get the latest german driving vehicle with a cool logo, and become mortgage brokers like the rest of the OC.
LOL
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Mar 23, 2017 - 01:18pm PT
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Don, classic. I never thought about dragging my kids up there. They might like that cabin.
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phylp
Trad climber
Upland, CA
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Mar 23, 2017 - 02:08pm PT
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We moved to Upland 3 years ago and the biggest factor in picking our new home was having a view of the mountains. Above is a view of Mts. Ontario and Cucamonga from our front yard. Baldy is set back deeper and a bit to the west, so out of view.
The access is so wonderful. I hike up there spring and fall, sometimes summer, but it's pretty hot then. The coolest trail in summer is Ice House Canyon. Even in the summer, the stream is running and there are cool mini-waterfalls. In the winter, there is a hike I love off of Glendora Ridge Rd out of Baldy Village called Sunset Peak. Gorgeous view of Baldy across the way.
My husband goes up on Baldy all year. He climbed ice and snow in New Hampshire and Alaska so he's very comfortable with it. He is so blown away to be able to go up in the morning and do a snow route with axe and crampons, and then come back to the house and it's 75 and sunny.
He has mentioned a couple of times that he is surprised by the lack of proper equipment in use from people he passes up there. He says it's low angle but you would get going really fast if you fell up there.
I feel very lucky to be living here.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Mar 23, 2017 - 02:46pm PT
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Tried to climb ice at Williamson right after a cold snap and getting a killer deal on a Chounaird tool and a borrowed X-15. Broke through snow crust while descending straight down from hwy 2 on snow shoes and damn near fell into a feeder creek and barely got out.
How did we survive the early days?
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Mar 23, 2017 - 04:07pm PT
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Anybody else ski on straw at the ski area when they still had the yump?
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 23, 2017 - 04:19pm PT
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Not on straw, but my first ever day on skis was at Baldy. I was alone and had no idea how to turn. Terrified and totally out of control I made it to the bottom, scathed only mentally.
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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Mar 23, 2017 - 08:31pm PT
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Great biking in and around Mount Baldy as well!
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rmuir
Social climber
From the Time Before the Rocks Cooled.
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Mar 25, 2017 - 09:49am PT
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One of my favorite outings was snow-slogging up the North Face of Telegraph, finding some rare ice along the way, and then bouldering at the Baldy boulders later that afternoon. Superguides and Supergators in the morning, shorts and Firés in the afternoon…
And when the conditions are right, telemarking with Nordic skis in the Baldy Bowl is a fine day trip.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Mar 25, 2017 - 10:00am PT
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Great biking in and around Mount Baldy as well!
It used to be. Now you better like motorcycles going by you at 90. :-/
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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Mar 25, 2017 - 10:32am PT
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The riding on weekdays is fine. Glendora Mountain Road on the weekends can be a bit trying. Highway 39 is a great climb. You can get through on a bicycle to Angeles Crest Highway; just hop over the gate.
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rmuir
Social climber
From the Time Before the Rocks Cooled.
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Mar 25, 2017 - 02:53pm PT
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While not Baldy proper—in response to the fine bicycling to be had in the neighborhood—I too would like to reaffirm the excellence of the bicycle riding up our way… But, yes, it's always better to ride Baldy, GRR, GMR, Hwy 39, and Hwy 2, during the weekdays.
Azusa to Dawson Saddle - highest elevation gain climb in the continental US (7,152 ft):
https://www.strava.com/segments/1638547
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Mar 25, 2017 - 03:41pm PT
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Those views of the foothills from Upland, down below. Like a time warp for me. I went to kindergarten, grad school, Jr. High and High School in Upland and always had the view to remind me there was more to life then baseball. Those mountains hung in the background of my life like a favorite painting and I never get tired of greeting them once more.
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Mar 25, 2017 - 04:06pm PT
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Decent mt. biking on Baldy itself. A good outing is to bike to the top of the lifts, chain up the bike to some infrastructure, do the Devil's Backbone and then fly back down on the bike. Good day, half day really.
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
ne'er–do–well
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Mar 25, 2017 - 09:24pm PT
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marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
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Mar 28, 2017 - 06:34pm PT
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Biotch~ 9,000 hands to the sun for those Baldy Pipe shots! I was going to post an old Salba/Pipeline shot with Baldy in the background, but that's even better.
Inland Empire. Second only to the Holy Roman!
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mooch
Trad climber
Tribal Base Camp (Kernville Annex)
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Mar 29, 2017 - 08:00am PT
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Bruce -
Yah!! Glendora Ridge Road is amazing! Before I moved away, I would ride that road at least twice a month, up to the Baldy ski lift parking lot and back. Gotta love that "headwall", just before the parking area. Always suffered purposely by doing it in the BIG ring. Uggg!
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TYeary
Social climber
State of decay
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Mar 29, 2017 - 11:55am PT
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Like many, I too grow up in the shadow of Mt. Baldy, in Glendora. Since 1971,Baldy has been my backyard "Everest". I learned the fundamentals of mountaineering on her flanks. Skills honed on Baldy, took me mountaineering around the world and so far, in one piece.
I still get up Baldy several times every year. I am dismayed at the amount of un-prepared, un-educated and ill equipped folks I see courting the summit. But that another story.
Here are a series of images, Baldy at her finest!
TY
TY
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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Mar 29, 2017 - 12:17pm PT
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Great shots Tony. I went to HS in Pomona. Baldy was a regular destination. The bowl was my first skiing experience. I will never forget the sound of the chatter of my skis on the ice right before I took a big ride.
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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Mar 29, 2017 - 01:10pm PT
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Mooch-
the "headwall" just before you get to Mount Baldy Ski Area is actually knicknamed "the bowling alley". It's about a 15% grade there and during the winter if it gets icy when cars brake on the way down they just keep going and slide into one another like pins in a bowling alley.
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