20110112 West Baldy North Face

TRs for the San Gabriel Mountains.
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Taco
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Post by Taco »

I explained the day to my good buddy Patrick in an email...

"I parked at the ski lifts, climbed up Manker Canyon to the Devils Backbone, took the ridge to the summit of Harwood, hiked over and across the NE face of Baldy, down to the saddle between Baldy and Dawson, then across Dawson's south side over Fish Fork, then right down into Fish Fork, the straight up the major couloir on West Baldy's north face, then across to Baldy and down the Ski Hut Trail, across the bowl from in the trees, and then home. :-)"


Pics:

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Starting up Manker Canyon

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Here be the poles that USED to be on DBB.

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In Manker

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Done

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Summit of Harwood

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Dawson

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My lucky Koopa Troopa

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Fish Fork

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Baldy's NF

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Avy debris at the base of the route

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C46 Commando bit

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Scrapes along the base of a spur from avalanches.

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Starting up

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Unhappy with steep postholing.

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Further up

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Happy with conditions

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Nearing the top

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Landing gear

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Almost done

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Top

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Koopa Troopa and the Pacific

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Route

Fin
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lilbitmo
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Post by lilbitmo »

That crux looks narly, can we get past that?

Just a super route today Taco, I'm very impressed, nice work, great pictures and report.
Taco wrote: Image
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Baldy's NF
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Elwood
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Post by Elwood »

Holy s#!t !! That's an amazing route, and great pictures !
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HikeUp
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Post by HikeUp »

Dude!
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Taco
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Post by Taco »

The crux on Baldy's NF Couloir (the one I didn't do) looked easy to get through. No gear.

Thanks Elwood!
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norma r
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Post by norma r »

:shock: How's the knees?

Hike, Taco hike! very nice.
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Taco
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Post by Taco »

Knees not so good as usual, probably because of miles of postholing. :?
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hvydrt
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Post by hvydrt »

Wow! Great job. Looks like fun.
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Burchey
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Post by Burchey »

Taco out livin' the dream. Nice report, how many miles would you reckon that was in total?
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Dave G
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Post by Dave G »

Nice day's work!
I like the landing gear pic.
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outwhere
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Post by outwhere »

Dang :shock: you are one tough Taco!

For a good while I was fascinated with those poles that used to be on Back Bone - who put them there, when ,,,,,, then who decided to take them down, etc etc...

Now to see that they were just tossed 'aside' is classic!

I've only seen one picture of them 'in action' - think it was in one of those Russ Leadabrand guide books or an old Westways magazine.

Good 1, Taco! Thanks for capturing all that beautiful scenery... :!: :arrow:
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spotfin
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Post by spotfin »

Great job, how long did that take?
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snmtbaldy
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Post by snmtbaldy »

Hi Taco,
You are truly an adventurer and mountaineer !!!
I enjoyed your photos very much.
Thank you for sharing with us.
Shin
PS. Sorry, I couldn't join with you last weekend. I had a very bad cold.
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406
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Post by 406 »

nice work. I still haven't made it back in there, looks like it would be a good ski. Also like the airplane parts.
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secondlizard
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Post by secondlizard »

Great trip report Taco. That was quite a day. I like that you take the time to take good pictures to go with experience. I think Koopa Troopa deserves a carbon fiber biner for guiding you. Next time I'm in REI I will pick one up for him. You are a good inspiration for me to keep working hard to get in better mountain shape so I can have those types of experiences.
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HikeUp
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Post by HikeUp »

...the Manker Shortcut Road (disintegrated Winter 2010-2011)
Dang. How bad is it? Last summer it was in easy walk up condition.
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Taco
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Post by Taco »

Thanks all!

Burchey, about 7 miles or so, 7,000ft gain and loss, give or take.

Outwhere, now you know where to find them!

Spotfin, started around 6 something in the morning, got back to my car around 4:30pm, 10.5 hours? It's kind of a long walk in that kinda terrain.

No worries, Shin.

406, it would be a ski paradise. So many awesome runs.

Secondlizard, sweet! Matching biners! Glad I could be of service!

Hikeup, all but the last 1/4 of the road is completely gone, you'd need a rockcrawling 4x4 to negotiate it now.
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Lcpl Hughes
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Post by Lcpl Hughes »

What a sick route!

When I grow up I wanna....
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asbufra
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Post by asbufra »

Impressive.
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Johnny Bronson
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Post by Johnny Bronson »

Man that is some training for....

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:P awesome stuff!
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Taco
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Post by Taco »

HELL YEAH, ALL-SPORT-MAN!
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Sam Page
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Post by Sam Page »

Totally awesome route, Taco. You got WAY off the beaten path on that one.

There was mention of a road being thrashed. Which one, exactly?
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mve
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Post by mve »

WOW dude, you are an animal! Incredible route. I like your buddy there too - Koopa Troopa :D
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HikeUp
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Post by HikeUp »

Sam Page wrote: There was mention of a road being thrashed. Which one, exactly?
It is (was) a short steep "road" that's shown on this map (try the satellite view). Goes from point A (parking lot for ski lift) up Manker Cyn. to point B (a point on the road from Manker Flats to Baldy Notch). Kind of a short cut if you want to walk up to the notch without following the really steep use trail under the ski lifts or following the road all the way up from Manker Flats.
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Sam Page
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Post by Sam Page »

HikeUp wrote:
Sam Page wrote: There was mention of a road being thrashed. Which one, exactly?
It is (was) a short steep "road" that's shown on this map (try the satellite view). Goes from point A (parking lot for ski lift) up Manker Cyn. to point B (a point on the road from Manker Flats to Baldy Notch). Kind of a short cut if you want to walk up to the notch without following the really steep use trail under the ski lifts or following the road all the way up from Manker Flats.
Thanks HikeUp! I didn't know about that road.
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glamisking
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Post by glamisking »

Nice. Last time I was on DBB Manker Canyon looked like a fun shortcut to bypass the lame road. Look forward to trying in.

I was stoked to find a stash of ice pirates stickers in the registry box on the 13th. So thanks!
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Taco
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Post by Taco »

You can thank Simonov for those stickers. :-)

Manker Cyn will probably suck unless you finish it before sunup, since it's been hot.
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mcphersonm80
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Post by mcphersonm80 »

What... the.... hell??

The why, I can understand, but how you did that route, I have no clue.

Awesome stuff!
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Taco
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Post by Taco »

It was technically very easy. The hard part was the postholing. I'm still searching for a route that will destroy me.
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