All of our snow hikes have been in the San Gabriels, so we've grown accustomed to ice, hard neve, and the occasional patch of knee deep powder. Up until now, this has been a fairly mild winter. How can the San Bernardino mountains be much different?

We got to the Angelus Oaks Trailhead just before 7am and headed up under clear skies, hitting consistent, packed down snow after only the first quarter mile or so. Slightly further up, the trail turned from icy to slightly crunchy, and the trees and manzanita were still covered in snow and refrozen icicles from the recent storms. The trail was easy to follow up to a clean dead end about halfway to the summit. Despite the clouds beginning to roll in, we determined our own footsteps would be easy to follow back, and we began breaking trail straight up the slope to the summit.

What started as soft neve soon turned to windblown powder. Mid-calf plunges eventually escalated to hip-deep submersion as we scaled the 40 degree incline. As we approached 10,000 feet, every step became a challenge, and the 30mph wind gusts whipped snow off the slopes and trees and stung our faces. Looking back, there's no question how I tore my hip flexor tendons.

We got to the summit (probably about three feet higher than most people), inhaled some refreshments and started back down. No sign or registry to mention, of course. Descent was wonderful, like hopping onto a memory foam mattress with every step, with gravity returning back to us our hard work from the hours past. And then it… almost got serious. The winds had blown enough snow to almost completely submerge our steps at some points, and the clouds, which had begun rolling in our way up, were beginning to pose a navigation hazard. Luckily, we were able to pass the wind tunnels and… find a couple extra fresh tracks following ours. Some poor soul(s) had decided to follow us off trail and turn back partway up. If you're reading this, sorry if you thought it was the trail. We rejoined the trail and finished the descent, once again, through the heavy cloud layer and back to the trailhead.

The trail was a little slippery, but otherwise, we carried our crampons with us without ever taking them out. I like to carry my ice axe everywhere as a measure of security. The recent storms must have washed a lot of dirt from the access road and left big, barren rocks requiring a high clearance vehicle to cross. However, you should be able to park not far from the trailhead in any ordinary car.

This hike made me want snowshoes. Doing this in the summer will feel like cheating.

Cheers!