Gear for Baldy Bowl in the winter

[davidwiese]

Hi everyone,

I'm increasingly interested each year in doing a winter ascent up the Baldy Bowl, and am ready to invest in the necessary footwear and traction. I have seen a lot of different advice on what is necessary for the climb. Some people insist on B2 or even B3 boots with semi-auto or auto crampons, and others say that trail runners and microspikes are sufficient. Surely people have success with both, the latter requiring much better conditions (e.g. I hiked up the Mt. Whitney chute in June last year with trail runners and trail crampons because the conditions allowed it. I also had an ice axe and knew how to self arrest).

Does it depend ultimately which chute you decide to top out through?

Would something like a Lowa Renegade (I have really wide feet <3 Lowa) with a 12pt steel strap-on crampon be enough?

Or would someone really need a B2 (stiff boot w/ heel welt) or more for typical winter Baldy Bowl conditions?

All insight and beta welcome! Really looking into getting started with some SoCal mountaineering.

[stonehillnews]

Any reason you’d want to go lighter? I’d favor being over-prepared, given the choice.

[davidwiese]

General comfort. The lighter you are, the more you can do, as long as your gear is sufficient for the conditions.

I'd much rather wear a 2lb pair of boots than a 3lb pair if that's all that was needed. The lighter boots also have more flex and make the approach and flat sections much more bearable.

Hoping a lot of posters will chime in with their experience specifically on Baldy and what they used.

[Sean]

Try reading through this thread. I imagine that current conditions on Baldy Bowl would require decent crampons. It's still very cold up there, so you'll have to deal with lots of ice.

[davidwiese]

Try reading through this thread. I imagine that current conditions on Baldy Bowl would require decent crampons. It's still very cold up there, so you'll have to deal with lots of ice.

Very informative read, thanks for pointing me that way.

It sounds like many people use strap-on/C1 crampons. Good beta - will help me with my boot and crampon purchases. Looks like any solid waterproof boot that will hold strap-on crampons securely should do.

Definitely leaning toward the Lowa Renegades in wide. So far they are the only ones I've tried on that were comfortable and fit correctly. Will likely pair with the Grivel G-12 steel strap-ons w/ a flex bar.

[Taco]

Late reply, sorry.

I think the best choice for climbing similar terrain would be a pair of La Sportiva Trangos, with the heel welt, or an equivalent boot. I have the Trango Cube, and previously wore the Scarpa Charmoz GTX or whatever. I would suggest a boot with a heel welt, but a toe welt isnt necessary for the vast majority of movement in the San Gabriels.

I would suggest a 12pt crampon like the Grivel G12. There are a lot of similar ones from Black Diamond, Petzl, Camp, etc. No aluminium.

I have worn Salomon Goretex trail runners with BD strap crampons up the bowl a buncha times but im not gonna suggest that to anyone, cause they arent me.

Also a helmet. Practice self arrest a lot. I see you said you know how, so thats good. Also maybe seek out other routes similar to the bowl but with less traffic. Its insane how much traffic the bowl gets. I hope most people stay there. Im being intentionally vague here about similar routes because i dont want more people climbing the ones i like, because then i wouldnt like em anymore cause thered be too many humans, and too many humans is big number one problem in my life right now. If you message me, i can suggest specific routes.

Anywho, Trangos with a heel welt (not their trekking ones), steel 12pt semi auto crampons, etc. Throw the microspikes on the fire and put a .45-70 round right through your smartphone and burn your prius. Cheers all.