Good old Baldy! I have a long and complicated history with this one. I successfully summited on my first trip there in 2016 from Manker, but failed to summit during the 2 Climb For Heroes events I did in 2017 and 2019, which left me feeling very down on whether I would ever be able to summit again.

But, determined to train for Mt. Whitney and settle an old score, I decided to tackle the beast for the fourth time in the hopes of achieving my second summit. In order to give myself the best chance of summiting, I decided to take the ski lift up and down so I would have fresh legs starting from the Notch. It was my partner’s first time on the mountain as well, and he is not as avid a hiker as I am so I thought it would be palatable for him as well.

The weather was pretty odd on Sunday. Rainy and cloudy at the base of the mountain but above the clouds at the bottom of the ski lift. Perfect weather hiking up and only a mild breeze on the summit. Couldn’t have asked for more! But the clouds were rolling in on the way down and by the time we were on the lift heading down, we were getting drizzled on and visibility was low. I hope everyone was able to safely get themselves off the mountain in time.

All in all, a great day on the mountain, a successful summit and an evened score. Two peaks down!