We got started on the trail at around 8am. There were a lot of cars at Manker, mostly all hikers. There is virtually no snow in Manker so the snow players mostly came and left, except for the hardy few who will slide down anything, even dirt and gravel. At the trail head, someone stapled laminated signs to trees warning people of icy conditions and crampons/ice axe is recommended. My friend mentioned to me that someone died on Baldy just a few days ago. Whoa.
The snow doesn't start till about half way to the Ski Hut. At that time it was somewhat icy snow, so we put on our spikes. Some people chose to keep going with bare shoes. For us it was easier to walk with traction and not have to walk so gingerly over slippery icy.
At the Ski Hut, I couldn't believe how many people were there. It was so crowded, it looked like summer. It was also a younger crowd instead of the grizzled old mountaineers I normally see up there. I did notice more people had proper equipment. Not a lot of helmets, but a lot of ice axes and crampons.
My friend and I didn't intend to summit or climb the bowl. We went to the base of the bowl to practice self arrest and glissade techniques. A lot of people climbed the bowl and they all took different routes. The bowl is in condition and is climbable. I found the snow conditions to be pretty good. A 2-3" soft top layer on top, a harder 1" crust below, then a softer base underneath. I climbed half way up the bowl and did two glissades down. Both times the snow felt good for glissading. It was firm enough to maintain speed but soft enough to easily brake with the spike on my ice axe. Most of the rockfall was in the center section (Procrastination Chute). The rocky chutes to the left of center did not see as much rockfall.
At around 11am, an LA County SAR helicopter arrived and started orbiting the bowl. We looked around and saw some people waving their jackets at the helicopter. It circled again and the guy hanging out the side waved his arm to tell us to clear the area. The chopper came in and and did a one skid landing to drop off one of the flight crew.
He went over to the people. Apparently, what happened was a guy fell while on the west ridge of the bowl. He ended up near a group of mountain guides who were teaching a mountaineering course. The victim had a lot of lacerations on his face. He's also a doctor so he thought he had internal injuries. The flight crew guy said they will have to call in another chopper, a Blackhawk, to hoist the victim out on a backboard, then take him to USC.
About a half hour later, the Blackhawk arrived and did an impressive one wheel landing on a rock. He set down with the right wheel on a rock, the tailwheel on the snow and the left wheel hovering in the air. He held the chopper perfectly still for several minutes. Wow!
They packaged up the victim on the backboard and hoisted him out. These chopper pilots are so good. He held it in a perfectly still hover for several minutes. They flew away, circled some more, then came back to the Ski Hut. Apparently a female fell and hurt or broke her ribs. They hoisted her out too.
We descended safely and made it back to the trailhead at about 2pm. Someone in a safety vest came up to us and asked, "I'm with the Forest Service. I noticed you are carrying gear. Did you go to the Devils Backbone today?" We said no. He thanked us, got in his car and drove off.
Later we learned there were 12 rescues that day, four of them with injuries, one fatality in Ice House Canyon and the rest were stranded near the top due to icy conditions.
They closed the mountain today. It will remain closed until at least Tuesday. I think that's a first?! They said the conditions were too icy. It was kinda icy, but in IMO, conditions were pretty normal. I think the accidents and rescues might be due to inexperience. The people who got stranded at the top got up there too late. If you go that late, you have to be ready for it to refreeze as the sun goes down.
I also saw a lot of people climb the bowl with their ice axe still on their packs. They used their trekking poles instead. One group went up like this on the same slope where the guy just fell. They even asked me what happened to that guy and I explained it to them! I don't think this is a good idea. You really should have that ice axe in your hand, ready for a self arrest. But I guess everyone is free to make their own decisions.
Notice all the trekking poles:
Victim is seated:
Hoist operation:
