Check out the rest of his gallery here, http://keeganuhlphotography.com/wilderness/icehouse2010/index.html

Thanks for sharing!

We left at about 6:00am and got to the tram by 7:35am and barely made onto the first tram up. This was my first time on the tram, and I must say that it was pretty adventurous. Nice fast mover all the way to the top. I guess it was too early though to rotate it for the view. Unless they only do that on the way down.

For this hike, we were expecting to be breaking trail the whole way up. At first I was looking forward to it. But as I walked in non broken trail for about 5 feet, I realized that would have been a bad idea. So I was really glad there was a faster group in front of us breaking a pretty good trail for us. This was pretty much how it went all the way to the top.

On the way down, more broken trail. Downhills are generally easier, and soon enough it was like charging down a nice scree slope with leaves and soft dirt to cushion each step. However, I guess I was going too heavy because I would be sinking in further than the path already laid out. And by mile 2 of the downhill, my -best guess- Tensor fasciae latae muscle was burning and in pain until the flatter portions of the trail.

Total time for this hike I believe was about 7 hours. Most of that time we were taking pictures or just playing around in the fresh powder. Lee made it up before any of us and was the designated peak greeter for the day. I think the whole hike would have taken him less than 4 hours to complete.

Lessons learned:
1. Camelbak tubes freeze up regardless if it’s insulated or if you blow the water back into the bladder. It just stops working.
2. Thinking about getting a full on bib. Falling ass first in fresh deep powder sucks.
(Updated)
3. Goggles! Sun glasses could work, but the wind still gets in from the sides. Goggles give all around wind protection.
4. When the powder is fresh, glissading does not work.
5. Snow baskets are key when using hiking poles. The small ones that came with my $10 Target hiking pole was ok, but still sank in.
6. The sock liner with a synthetic sock had my feet feeling like they were in a fresh pair all day.

Videos of the day below:

Just caught the aftermath on video. The story here is that Tim went ahead to take pictures of us approaching. He drops his camera in the snow, and after he picks it up, ends up losing his balance falling in. Miriam comes over to help and grabs the end of Tim’s hiking pole which comes loose and drops them both into the snow. And as you can see, it’s a whole process trying to get up with snowshoes on.

After through the trees, we finally hit the clearing. I forgot what valley this is called, but it had some pretty great views all around.

By this point, we had already gone up most of the steep stuff. We were probably less then 100 – 200 vertical feet from the top. We had also lost the shelter of the northern ridge from the wind.

Almost to the top. Less than 50′ I’d say. I think I stalled at this portion because I didn’t want it to end.

Finally at the top. It was pretty windy at times. The wind was blowing from north to south taking loose particles of snow with it. Good thing for goggles.

Traversing down.

What a terrible but entertaining idea. I was third to try it and ended up with the same results. I had also made the mistake of trying to traverse left to the main trail without snowshoes. My 70 cm ice ax going all the way into the slope, and my legs were up to my mid-thighs. After 40′, I was exhausted and just started rolling the last 20.

The tram is quite a wonderful piece of machinery. Especially with the rotating cabin. But what was most entertaining was the second of weightlessness you’d feel after it cleared a tower. The passengers got a real kick out of that.

The plan was to meet at 6:30 and head up at that time. But with some traffic and other delays, we did’t start until 7. I haven’t started a hike this early since before summer, so I was feeling tired right off the bat. But once we crossed snow on the trail, that all changed. The snow on the trail was already semi-paved for us so crampons weren’t necessary. Although we did break out the ice ax early.

We got to the ski hut at about 8:30, had a quick breakfast, and tied on our crampons. What a difference those make. From slippery snow to instant stability. I was loving it!

Our first order of business was for me to learn how to self-arrest. I had watched this video the previous night to supplement what Tim was teaching me. Check out the video, it’s pretty educational.

We did this for a good hour and got whizzed by a few rocks rolling down the mountain. Those things are scary. You don’t actually see them until you hear them flying by. And by then it’s already almost past. That’s when we implemented the rock watch.

Once the training was done, we started up. Our route would be the far western slope of the Bowl. All the other groups had taken the eastern approach which intersected with the Backbone Trail. We saw only 2 people going directly up the center. Those 2 must have been experienced because the view from the top looking down was insanely steep. Not quite vertical, but close to it.

As for our route, you can see it in the first picture. From the bottom of the Bowl, things looked pretty easy. It’s awfully deceiving though. Once past the halfway point, it gets steeper and steeper. At one point about 40 feet from the top, I lost Tim’s tracks and panicked for a few seconds. At a time like this, this is where experience comes in. The only other time I felt this kind of apprehension was in Falling Rock Canyon. Except this was worse.

With FRC, if you fell, you could probably count on slamming down on a outcrop of rocks after maybe a 10′ fall. Here though, as I looked down, I could actually visualize my path down. Looking left didn’t help either. This view gave me an excellent view of the slope in all of its steep glory. Therefore, I could calculate roughly the speed at which I would be travelling. And by my calculations, it would be fast.

So anyways, the panic that came over me was subdued with some mental focus and going over the fundamentals in my head. Which for me was, step, pick, step, repeat. Then it got really dicey when I noticed an ice patch that I was a few feet from. I hadn’t done any side-to-side practice, so I figured I should learn quickly.

I avoided the ice patch. Strafed my was over to the proper path. Then eventually got to the top. Upon reaching the top, I was absolutely elated to see a down slope. Not 5 minutes after reaching the top, Kathy from Socal Hikers & Peakbagger shows up out of nowhere. Well, not out of nowhere. I saw her and her friend at the bottom of the bowl while we were breaking halfway up. But still, I didn’t realize she was that close.

After getting to the top of the Bowl, there wasn’t anymore real high drama or excitement. Now it just becomes a matter of getting to the top. Which means a good workout. We trudged along as best we could but had to stop every 50 feet or so. Hiking in the snow isn’t exactly easy.

We finally reached the top at about 1pm. Funny thing about Baldy, it was nothing but ice. Anything other than crampons, and you would be slipping and a sliding.

The way down was pretty uneventful. Except for the SAR helo’s looking for some lost or possibly injured hikers. Turned out to be a false report though. Hopefully it was.

Here’s the gallery from the day. Pics taken by Tim, Kathy, and myself.

Lastly, as crazy as it sounds, I’m tempted to try the eastern route. I said I wouldn’t, but the excitement is just too much. Although this time, I think I’ll wait until conditions are better.

Okay, so onto…

Day 1: Thursday, March 12, 2009

The four of us left Marina Del Rey at about 4 and got caught up in traffic heading to UCLA to drop off a car. After that though, the 405 kind of “lightened” up. Once off the 405 and on whatever freeway takes you up there, then it was smooth sailing.

That was the car crew. Some pics of the actual drive up now:

So here we are, passing through the lovely town of Bishop. A quick story and observation…The highway to get to Mammoth requires driving through the main downtown streets through these mostly one main downtown street. Therefore, the speed limit gets reduced from 65 to 55 to 45 … to finally 25. This is pretty slow, but thankfully the town is only about 2 miles long before the highway starts again.

My observation is that the locals have plate covers that state either “Bishop” or “Bishop Perry Motors.” My deduction is that the cops use this to separate the locals from the out of town folks. Why would they do this? To ticket the tourists of course. Well, that’s my theory. The mind gets very creative on a long drive. But should you pass through this little town, check out the plates on the passing cars.

Anyways, back to it. The first video is us arriving in Bishop. The second is us trying to find the office location in Mammoth so that we can get our room keys.

This one has some good banter.

You know, sometimes you’re just too focused to really pay attention to anything else.

Day 2: Friday, March 13, 2009

Chris and I woke up, made breakfast, and headed out for the first day of intensity.

We got our lift tickets, I rented my boots, hot waxed our skis and board, and now we’re ready to go. My first run would be Schoolyard. We could have taken Canyon up, but Schoolyard just sounded more appropriate at the moment; and it was.

After some instruction, I finally got some control and found my balance. Kind of. The first thing to learn was heel side leafing. This was pretty easy and I was able to do it somewhat effectively down halfway. Then my legs got tired and we took a quick break.

We did one more run on Schoolyard then headed up to a higher slope (Canyon). Here we met up with my bro and sil. I was ready to thrash up the mountain, but my front binding broke. This was a bummer, but at least the lift operator who called in a snowmobile for me was talkative and pretty attractive. So it wasn’t too bad.

But after a long delay and a white knuckle snowmobile ride down to the base, I got my binding fixed and then we took a nice little break just to relax our muscles.

This is the last video from the day. About the second to last run. By this point I was able to leaf comfortably well.

Day 3: Saturday, March 14, 2009

This day started off like any other. Except this time, we’d be eating like champs! For breakfast, 2 scrambled jumbo eggs, 1/2 lb Farmer John’s Pork Sausage (original flavor), bacon-oil seasoned hash browns, topped with bacon for added texture.

After chowing down and almost falling into breakfast coma, we managed to make our way back to the slopes for another day of fun. This time though, the snow was more frozen, and not as forgiving as the previous day. I fell pretty good many times on the first run of the day.

Good thing I wore a helmet. I got laid out pretty good.

On another run, there was some Red Bull sponsored event happening which was pretty cool. The last one is especially great because this daring person ate a good amount of snow.

The rest of the day was fun as usual. I started to finally get carving and actually did a carve or two. It was a proud moment I would say. So that’s what the second day was used for, pure training and learning to carve.

My top strap broke which was a shame. At this point, it was already 3pm so we decided to call it a day. Too bad we were also quite a ways from our original starting location. This meant we had to take a bus and a gondola to get back to where we wanted to go.

For some reason, I was transfixed on that driveway.

Well, that’s pretty much the trip. Sunday we spent cleaning and driving back. Which by the way, if you decide to head on back, I would recommend stopping at Schats Bakery and Mahogany Smoked Meats. Some fine selections of baked goods and then jerky!

I would say though, that despite the falls and pain that comes with it, that this was definitely worth it. I am really looking forward to next season too and taking advantage of some off season sales. I can’t believe I was missing out on all of this for all these past years. If you haven’t been, then you would have to give it a shot just to see if it’s something you would enjoy. Just be prepared to get slightly frustrated. Also, it’s a good idea to have a helmet and padding if you can find them. Butt padding. Trust me. And wrist guards.

If you want to check out the entire photo album, then click here.

I must say though, that these are some crazy mofo’s.

Dan Scott, a Wilderness Patrol Ranger in the San Bernardino National Forest, said hiking in deep snow, even with snowshoes, saps energy. And at an altitude above 9,500 feet, “it’s the perfect recipe for disaster.”

Legs become wobbly and what was a wide trail in July, has narrowed to the edge, with nothing but ice right to the valley below.

Read the full article from the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

A video by YouTube user Frozen Carnitas as he and a fellow climber make their way up Telegraph Peak in the snow. Great video that shows that a good winter climb is only an hour away from Downtown Los Angeles.

1. Check out the snow level.
2. Get up to Wilson in 3.5 hours and be done with the entire hike in 7 hours.

We kept a quick pace throughout stopping very little for breaks. The normal stops that are normally taken weren’t. First Water, skipped. Orchard Camp, just a blur. Manzanita Ridge however we had to stop. It’s very tempting not to stop at a place with a bench. Also, some of us included myself needed some food in our stomach.

After a 15 minute stop, we headed out and made our way along the ridge to the Toll Road. This was quite a different site. Last week the entire road was covered with about 1-2 feet of snow all the way up to Mt. Wilson. Now hardly a foot left.

Walking along the road, a lot of it on the road had turned to ice which made walking at times a bit challenging. A good safety measure for us though was that the road was plowed so the side embankments had a nice 3 foot high mound separating us from the steep declines.

We got to the trail connecting the road and the trail leading up to the parking lot. This part was still decently covered in snow which was at times slightly iced over. The ice here though was mixed with some snow which gave some traction. We kept trudging along, and soon enough we reached the top and enjoyed the snow for a brief time before lunch.

Looking back now, I suppose I should have taken a shot of the actual view. I was just too preoccupied with snow and food to remember.

The way back down we decided to make a mini-loop of this hike. So we continued along the Mt. Wilson Toll Road to connect with the Hastings Peak ridge trail.

We took the connector trail down back to the Mt. Wilson Trail. From this point, some of us decided to jog the rest of the way down. We did pretty well and stopped briefly at First Water before taking the technical portion full on.

This day was a pleasure because we beat our goal by almost 30 minutes! 6.5 hours for the entire trip, and to the top, 3 hours 10 minutes. Fantastic day with great company and after hike food at Lucky Baldwin’s for some chicken pot pie and Guinness.