It was a perfect day to summit Mt Baldy solo as a personal celebration to becoming an Ambassador for the Northern California Six Pack of Peaks.  Baldy has been on my mind since August when I summited its shorter neighbor Cucamonga Peak.  I wasn't as strong back them  I left from Santa Cruz in the Bay Area at 3 am and drove straight to the trailhead.  I was on the trail by 9:30am.

The drive was long and I came fully prepared to back out of this hike if the weather turned bad.  This was my first REAL snow hike and it was intimidating to have to wear crampons and take on this snow covered mountain.  Two thousand feet of snow to be most accurate.  I had received some education from mountaineering friends and REI about proper gear and my experience and I was grateful the weather was great.  Almost too great because I got a little sunburn on my lower arms and face.  I was comfy in my favorite REI leggings, a Columbia long sleeve with a cotton hooded vest.

I made my way up to the Notch where the ski lodge is and went in a counterclockwise direction as I made my way towards Devil's Backbone.  I put my crampons on just above the Ski Lodge area.  The views from Devil's Backbone are amazing.  I made my way past Mount Harwood and began the final push up the super steep mountain side.  It was tough wearing those crampons but it was worth it.  I finally reached the summit and had my trail snacks and sweeping views all around of snowy mountains and cloud covered valleys.  It was pure magic!

After taking a few photos and taking in all the beauty I made my descent down the Bowl.  This is where I eventually ran into two backpackers who were headed up to sleep at the summit.  Sounds fun.  The bowl was massive and snow was super fluffy. Just as I left the Bowl, the snow was less and I was able to put my regular boots on and make my way down to the cloudyness.  9.5 hours on the trail and Im stoked to have bagged this peak.  Im ready to get back up there!