Mount Baldy

03/10/2005 (Thursday)

Ascended the Devil's Backbone
Descended to the ski hut and then down the trail

This was my first time up the backbone and I wasn't disappointed.  The
backbone was heavily corniced by all the recent snow.  It looked like
a fairly forbidding place.  Some of the cornices were massive.  There was one
short and steep section where I had to use all 4 limbs -- kicking steps
and getting what little purchase I could with my ice axe and free hand.  
There were no icy sections on the backbone.  It was rather soft snow -- too
soft in some places -- but much better than the horrible snow down lower.  If 
it were icy I can definitely see how it can be a dangerous place.  But
fortunately conditions were fairly ideal and it seemed pretty safe.  On
at least half of the backbone I just used my trekking poles for better
balance.  For a short time around the steep spot I switched to my ice
axe.

As usual it was quite windy and brisk on top.  I didn't spend much time
there.  In stark contrast on the descent it got uncomfortably hot -- just 
like last March.  The postholing was particularly bad just below the ski hut.

With the exception of the backbone I postholed most of the way up and most of the
way down.  I really regretted having left my snowshoes in the car.  It was
pretty brutal.  A sane person would probably have turned around but my 
stubbornness kept me going.  Afterall, this just makes it more challenging 
right?  Thankfully I did bring my trekking  poles which helped out a good deal.

My original plan was to ascend via the backbone, glissade down the bowl, and
take the ski hut trail out.  Due to the heavy snow accumulation, very warm weather, 
and the fact that I didn't see anyone else on the mountain, I opted not to descend 
the center of the bowl due to potential avalanche concerns.  Instead, I descended 
to the saddle between Baldy and Mount Harwood and then glissaded down a gentle 
chute right to the ski hut.  This route didn't seem to have the same heavy snow 
accumulation and thus seemed  a good deal safer.  There was no recent evidence 
of any large slides but I didn't  want to push my luck.  If I got into trouble 
there was no one else around to offer assistance.  There were some straight 
lines in the bowl that looked like they might have been carved by a snowboard, 
but they did appear rather large.  It's possible they could be tension cracks 
but they seemed too straight for that.

Update: After closer inspection of some of my photos I'm pretty sure they are
indeed tension cracks.  Might want to use caution if you go up the bowl.

Log:

07:43am - Started hiking up the dirt road from Manker Flat
09:45am - Passed by the ski lodge on a ridge to the NW
10:24am - Reached the top of the upper ski lift
11:56am - Reached summit of Mount Harwood
12:44pm - Reached summit of Mount Baldy
12:50pm - Left summit of Mount Baldy
01:27pm - Reached the ski hut
02:42pm - Returned to Manker Flat

Stats:

Time to Summit from Manker Flat (via the dirt road and Devil's Backbone): 5 hrs 1 min
Time from Summit back to Manker Flat (via bowl + ski hut trail): 1 hr 52 mins

Gear:

Grivel G12 Crampons
Trekking Poles
Ice Axe
Daypack

Driving Time:

Left Bakersfield (White Ln & Wible) just before 5:00am
Arrived at Manker Flat about 7:30am
Left Manker Flat at 2:51pm
Returned home at 5:20pm

(Managed to miss all the traffic on the way out)