Mt. Baldy | LA Blizzard Hiking

Description

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In the frozen heart of winter, we ascended into a blizzard atop the famous mountain Mt. Baldy, only 45 minutes away from downtown Los Angeles. Being surrounded by snow and heavy winds was enough to reconsider if we were doing the right thing. We were treated to beautiful views, dazzling colors and sense of nature's mighty power that would knock you down a few pegs.

Check out more great photographs at Chris' blog: http://cdenzel.com/photography/winter-mountain/

Our gear!

Canon T3i Camera (this link is for the T5i, the T3i is what we actually use, but that and the T4i are both good too) - http://amzn.to/1qHphdE

Canon 50mm f1.8 Lens - http://amzn.to/1p29wQs

Sigma 10-20mm Lens - http://amzn.to/1p29AzQ

Tokina 11-16mm Lens - http://amzn.to/UUrhVC

Manfrotto 502 Video Head MVH502AH - http://amzn.to/1nhkBrF

Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod - http://amzn.to/UKa55r

Glidecam 2000 HD w/ Quick Release Plate (That quick release plate is essential. Highly recommended) - http://amzn.to/WUpTEv

Rode Videomic Pro - http://amzn.to/1p2a9JT

Roland Quad Capture (We use this for recording music) - http://amzn.to/1zKzD23

Behringer XM8500 Microphone - http://amzn.to/1qHqOAq

Katadyn Water Filter - http://amzn.to/1onus3P

Columbia Silver Ridge Convertible Pants - http://amzn.to/1pR5qXL

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All of the music and footage in this video is original.

All content and music is copyright Adventure Archives/Team Scoog Production (c) 2014

Tags: Mount Baldy Ski Lifts (Ski Area),Mount San Antonio (Mountain),Los Angeles County (US County),Hiking (Sport),Skiing (Sport),Park,Climbing,National,Mountains,Trail,Winter Sport (Media Genre),Winter (Quotation Subject),Nature,Camping (Literature Subject),Snow,Backpacking (Sport),National Park (IUCN Category),bushcraft,Survival Skills (TV Genre)

Video Transcription

if you're thinking about going to Mount Baldy in the winter there's a few things you should know first there will be times where you're wrapped in cold clouds with no rays of light to warm you there will be times where you see snow appear out of nowhere clinging to every pine needle and leaf Akande find you'll see strong wooden pillars of yellow Pines being tossed every which way and there will be times where you feel like the wind penetrates every bone in your body you will see the sky blazed with fire and just as the Sun sets there's a call almost letting you know that it's time to go this is Mount Baldy and this is the time we tried to climb it we started the hour drive from Santa Monica up to the Los Angeles National Forest as we ascended we realized that the sunny clear day we were expecting probably wasn't going to happen the dark looming clouds covered the Blue Mountains in the distance we started to wonder if we were about to get more than we had bargained for we are the underworld but we are going to be going on top of Mount Baldy which is the highest point in Los Angeles County our making be slow climb into the mountains with my car that looks like rain that looks like an adventure to me before going on this trail we knew we were going to need the right kind of gear this is what we had brought with us for a January trip we brought a tight-fitting warm undershirt a regular hiking shirt a ski jacket a Down Vest hat and gloves hiking pants snow pants wool hiking socks thick hiking boots not to mention food water map compass first-aid knife cordage and about 20 pounds of camera equipment our original plan was to take the ski lift to the top of the ridge and hike to Devil's Backbone trailhead where we would then hike to summit Mount Baldy itself but when we got there we learned the ski lift was closed due to high winds this was going to add about an extra two hours to our hike and based on all the hikers we saw climbing down we figured something must been pretty bad to make them turn around we decided to push forward anyway uh we can't even see Mount Baldy right now no it's good incredibly cloudy we're gonna be hitting the clouds soon so we're gonna be walking through like a thick layer of just water vapor and it's gonna be pretty gray yeah I think I've ever done anything like this yeah but hopefully on the other side of it we're gonna hit some snow so we'll find out right now we followed the forest road that climbed higher and higher into the mountains the higher we got the less visible things in front of us were it also got colder like significantly colder because of how cool it felt it was easy to forget to hydrate at the elevation we were trying to read she was so critical to keep drinking it also gave us a good opportunity to take in the view while we still could we asked him about the they were saying that uh it's mostly just cloudy got some cloud coverage going on the forecast so that it was supposed to be a clear sky so maybe by the time we get up there clouds will have cleared a little bit and we'll get out we get a nice view of everything around us as we pushed ahead we spotted our first glimpse of snow now we're Ohio natives and plenty used to snow but being in LA for winter we hadn't seen snow for months so here it is the first snow of winter for us at least

the higher we got the faster the clouds moved kind of look like it was something out of a video game it was almost unbelievable how quickly they would blow down the face of a mountain pass that's point in front of us we were really starting to feel a shortness of breath and this is why the higher the elevation the less oxygen there is in the atmosphere at sea level there's 100% oxygen but as you climb there's less and less you'll really begin feeling it at around 5,000 feet that's when you'll notice a shortness of breath that's because at 5,000 feet there's only 85% oxygen and there would be at sea level so at this point we're at 8,000 feet elevation which is considered a high altitude this meant we only had 75% oxygen than we would at sea level so altitude sickness can set in an 8,000 feet that's where you start feeling nauseous dizzy tired and weak where we were going to the summit of Mount Baldy was just over 10,000 feet in elevation or 70% oxygen you

it was like we hit a wall of ice more snow quickly became prevalent and realized we were about to literally get into the thick of it the thicker the snow the stronger the winds became this is the point where hikers were turning back the landscape seen more dead and formed than ever was eerie and unwelcoming the 30 mile-per-hour winds were tugging at us from either side we began to doubt ourselves we had never done anything like this before we considered turning back he soon came to a crossroads and had to choose between a shorter but steeper hike and longer but lower grade hike to the trailhead we were worried about daylight so we opted to do the shorter route but stopping more frequently along the way we really did not account for just how steep the trail was it's really kind of half mental and half actual physical strength when you say absolutely yeah when it was getting rough a little bit ago we were taking stops probably every 100 feet or so oh yeah it may be even less each really is you just kind of be safe and make sure that you don't burn yourself out for the marathon rakesh ah all you want to keep going I think so no I'm done let's do this all right so we have finally made it and it's very intimidating because from my perspective right now I can't see it or anything but I just see a drop-off and I can absolutely hear the wind just roaring how windy is it by breeze like 50 yards that way it's like 70 mile-an-hour wind Wow I appreciate it thank you we had finally hit the boundary of the ski area which meant that we were actually able to begin the trails to put things in perspective we were just now eating the trail head that would lead us to the summit of Mount ball as we rounded a snowbank we ran into another group of hikers all taking refuge next to a tree that served as a windbreaker they've been drinking a little bit and we're very proud of a monster they had carved out of the snow oh wow oh my god I gotta set this down we also took refuge in his windbreak later on we found out that we were experiencing wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour we were very satisfied to take a breather here for a bit right now I'm standing in a break where this giant lovely tree is saving me from the wind as that wind is killer it almost feels warm here compared to like taking five steps backwards or like a few steps forwards it became obvious we weren't able to go much further but I still wanted to push ahead alone just to see what I could see not going too far I just want to feel what it's like she's standing at 60 mile-per-hour winds it's called Devil's Backbone and I can absolutely understand why it is so Thomas is going up ahead to really go up and down Devil's Backbone I'm gonna kick in here and see what I can do it's deafening a lot of foot traffic here so I'm not the first person to see what's a little bit further so question keep asking yourself when you're in place look at that so now the mountain then let's go over here Staubach put my D it was all the way up to PI D here's Chris right while I was out try not to get blown over Chris was back at home base taking some beautiful shots

that was awesome order of my cameras even still on as much fun as we were having on the ridge of that mountain we knew we should head back soon we got our gear and left down the mountain as we descended the Sun broke through the clouds and we were able to see the Mojave Desert on the other side of the range it was like everything we had just done had earned us this little break in the clouds but just as soon as the ice began about away from us we decided to swing by a very empty ski lodge for a quick bite to eat and warm ourselves next to the wood-burning furnace there's only a handful of minutes every year that I get to call the golden time they usually follow when the Sun breaks through after a terrible storm kind of like a sign of forgiveness when we left the lodge we were exhausted but then that golden air seemed to rejuvenate us we couldn't believe how illuminated everything appeared to be it was kind of like Mount Baldy was telling us to come back another time so we began our hike down this time without the clouds everything seems so new so different so much less threatening in the distance we saw the twinkle of the city below us and knew that this one was one of the best adventures yet

but we knew we were coming back thank you so much thank you so much for watching our videos please a lot to us like what you see great videos west coast here and it was over here above Chris's head yeah check it out we're right here we're talking about

what

laughter a video to subscribe to be so much to us the buzzer behind us the 10 steps back was going down yeah we had 500,000 subscribers he jumps off that please

please jump please job you're done go good good