Plane wreck below the ski hut

bcrowell · Post by **bcrowell** » Fri Apr 09, 2021 3:54 pm

As I was on my way down the ski hut trail at Baldy yesterday, a guy walked up to me and asked me if I knew where the plane wreck was. I initially thought he was talking about the one up beyond the rim of the bowl, but he showed me a cell phone picture that apparently was taken looking uphill at the ski hut, from the site of the wreck. I lost patience after a while because he had no map. Where is this wreck? Is it just somewhere down in the main San Antonio Creek drainage, to the north of the trail? From the photo, it looked like it was quite close to the hut, but it doesn't seem to be visible from the trail.

Post by **dima** » Sat Apr 10, 2021 6:15 pm

Did his photo actually show the plane? I haven't heard of a plane crash there. There is a mine...

Post by **dima** » Sat Apr 10, 2021 6:37 pm

I just checked the book. It doesn't mention anything around the ski hut.

bcrowell · Post by **bcrowell** » Sun Apr 11, 2021 1:50 pm

He showed me some photos on his phone, but he didn't have a usable map or seemingly any map-reading skills. He had a GPS device with a one-inch screen and low resolution. Looking at some photos online now, I think what he was showing me was a web page with pictures of the 1949 wreck, probably this page: https://likemike.smugmug.com/Plane-Wrec ... ne-Wrecks/ . I think his plan was to find his way to the wreck by following the pictures rather than using a map, and he was misinterpreting the pictures to mean that the wreck was below the ski hut. When he first approached me, I tried to tell him about the wreck to the north of the
bowl, but he insisted that that wasn't it.

oldcoot · Post by **oldcoot** » Wed Feb 23, 2022 5:44 pm

I can post a photo...but can't remember exactly it was...definitely west of Ski Hut Trail...I think south of Ski Hut, but might be along the part after you cross across Baldy Bowl and get up to the west ridge...try both, it was pretty easily spotted from the trail...see if I can post a pic of it from 11 August 2011......

oldcoot (who keeps keeping getting older...grrrr...

Post by **dima** » Thu Feb 24, 2022 11:12 am

That's the tail from one of the Hellcats in upper Goode Canyon (same indicent as bcrowell's link above). Here's Joe Idoni's photo of the same chunk:

https://joeidoni.smugmug.com/Aircraft-C ... -555G4Kw/A

Go to the saddle between Baldy and West Baldy, drop straight down into Goode Canyon, and they're in there.

Edward · Post by **Edward** » Fri Feb 25, 2022 6:51 am

The wreckage I've seen a few times is not far below the usual route people take in the summer, not far below the summit, but far enough to be in a well-forested area. When you are traversing up the ridge on the left-hand (west) side.

oldcoot · Post by **oldcoot** » Fri Feb 25, 2022 12:12 pm

Thanks for the Idoni link...that confirms the wreck is beyond (north of) the Ski Hut, not south of it (I wasn't been able to go beyond the Ski Hut since my last visit to Baldy in 2012)...Dima knows much more than I do, so follow his info from there...but Edward's info rings a bell...I took the photo from the trail, so can you can see that section of the wreck from there (when it's not covered with snow) and don't have to go down anything unless you want a closer look...

oldcoot