Mount Baldy in the San Gabriel Mountains is the highest point in LA County — it exceeds 10,000 feet. Its proximity to the city makes it a popular climb for residents and visitors. But it’s also deadly, even for experienced hikers, especially in the winter. Since December, more than a dozen people have been rescued from the mountain. Two have died and two more remain missing, including British actor Julian Sands.
Hikers could slip and fall hundreds of feet on either side of the most popular trails there, especially when there’s ice and snow in the winter, says Jack Dolan, an investigative reporter who recently wrote about this for the Los Angeles Times.
One of the dangers is simply the cold, he points out.
“You might be standing in really soft, warm snow. But as soon as the sun dips behind the shoulder of the mountain, and the shadow crosses that surface, it can turn to unforgiving ice pretty quickly. That's the first thing to remember.”
He continues, “Secondly … when steep mountains get covered in snow and ice, they go through this freeze-thaw cycle. So not only will ice start falling from high places … rocks free [fall] as well. … There are places on Mt. Baldy, one in particular under something called the Baldy Bowl, really steep and popular technical climb, that becomes like a bowling alley in the afternoon. And climbers are the pins.”
Dolan recently spoke to one hiker, 28-year-old Jesse Saldana, who bought all the right gear and paid big money to take mountaineering courses, but still came back from Baldy Bowl feeling unprepared. “He discovered that underneath the surface snow was a really hard slab of ice. But he was having a hard time jamming his crampons, the spikes on his feet.”
Meanwhile, search-and-rescue teams are advising people to know what they’re doing, particularly how to use their gear properly, Dolan says.
“If you're going to attempt mountaineering, start slow, learn to use the crampons, learn to put them on right, learn to use an ice axe, and do it in a in a situation that won't kill you. And lots of people are watching YouTube and on Instagram, and thinking mountaineering looks like fun and it's really rad. And they go give it a try, and things can go horribly, horribly wrong.”
If you’re not certain you’re prepared, wait until spring or summer to hike Mt. Baldy because the environment is drastically different in winter, Dolan advises.