Ellen and Sally were looking to get out mid-week and wanted to do something other than Skyline, they twisted my arm just slightly and I agreed to run up Baldy Bowl with them yesterday knowing it was more than likely the last chance to get in a complete climb of the bowl before the snow was melted to the point of not wanting to do it.
The weather held up greatly as we moved up to the ski hut by 6:45, grabbed a bite to eat and headed up the bowl by 7:30ish. The snow was in perfect condition but we had to start left of center and work our way up and right to get into "Procrastination Chute". We topped out before 9 and made the summit by 9:20. The wind was a mild 8 mph breeze but it did start to snow, a very light fluff, we actually enjoyed it as it’s rare you can sit at the summit, enjoy some food, get snowed on and not get blown over
We then headed down 3-pin alley, where coverage was decent down the ridge that separates 3-pin from baldy beach, and that's where we did the scree scramble down that ridge back to the ski hut. At the ski hut I ran into Jim from the “Access Fund”, we had a nice chat about the “snow creek” situation, more about that later.
The day was fun, the ladies did great, had a nice mid-week climb.
You can see from my pictures that the day looked gloomy and that the snow is going faster and faster.
My Pictures Here