San J on Skis Sunday, Feb. 22

[Rick F]

My new B/C ski equipment is ready! I want to try out my new gear this coming Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009. My plan is to ride the tram, skin & hike up towards either Tamarack Valley-Miller Saddle-Summit, or Wellman Divide-Jean-Summit. All dependent on weather & snow conditions of course. Anyone going to be on skis that I can tag along with?

[EnFuego]

Congrats on your new B/C equipment. I'm starting to seriously think about getting a split board, but it woul cost me over a grand to get started. I think I'll buy some snowshoes for now and keep reading your guy's TR's.

Wish I could join ya. Have fun up there.

[hikehigh]

is San J a good BC skiing destination????There is some stuff that looks fun between saddle junct. and Tahquits, but its all short. Seems like most go to the San G wilderness.

[ajwoodzy]

is San J a good BC skiing destination????There is some stuff that looks fun between saddle junct. and Tahquits, but its all short. Seems like most go to the San G wilderness.

Yeah its a good area. Also, alot go up to the Baldy Bowl in the San Gabriels.

[Rick F]

Being new to B/C skiing I'm not sure which So. Cal. area is most frequented. I would have to assume that the Baldy Bowl & Ski Hut trail is among the most favored destinations.

I've decided to make my debut at San Jacinto since the terrain is so gentle and by riding the tram I won't have pack equipment up a long approach hike.

After gaining some proficiency I'll step it up to Baldy & San G. For me, the attraction to B/C skiing is being able to combine two things I already love, peak bagging and downhill skiing.

[EMan]

San Jac is a great 1st time bc ski destination. For the most part it is gentle, but you do need to be able to avoid the Ents....

Baldy Bowl can be very intimidating. You need full on avy gear: transponder, shovel, probe, & avalung after a good dump.
It's also a great idea to get an alpine start.

San G is a major commitment due to the length of the ski trip itself. IMO, it's more enjoyable as an overnite, camping at Dry Lake.

Another good 1st time area is Mt. Pinos. It's a guaranteed fun time if you get there b4 the crowds.

[Rick F]

Trip Report, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009.

I didn’t get quite as early of a start as I had intended. I did finish most gear prep the day before, I even packed a lunch on Saturday night. I was out the door a little before 7:00 a.m. Despite the sky being filled with high winter clouds, from Temecula and French Valley I had a clear view of Jacinto. The summit was crowned with a surreal lenticular cloud.

Needless to say, I didn’t make the first tram. There weren’t many early birds. As I parked, I noticed that there were only about 6 or 7 vehicles in parking lot. I rode up what I’m guessing was the second or third tram at about 8:40. Once off the tram & down the sidewalk I made my way to the Ranger station to fill out a self issue permit. There I put my skins on & talked briefly with a solo snowshoe hiker from Long beach.

I started skinning up a littler before 9:30 and although it was my first time on A/T skis it was working out well. There were several groups of 10 to 12 boys with some grown-ups making there way down. They told me they had camped out up at Tamarack Valley and some of the group summited the day before. This was good news to me since it indicated that there would be a well broken trail to the top.

I had to stop about where the trail forked to either Wellman Divide or Tamarack Valley to check some hot-spots on the inside of both feet just above my heels. Upon removing my boots I realized that I waited too long. I had left & right matching blisters. Like I’ve done for 30 years of downhill resort skiing, I wore only cotton athletic socks. I also didn’t put the laces in the liner of my A/T boots. No big deal, I covered the tender blisters with some duct tape, laced up the liners, and switched to Smart wool socks.

I continued skinning to a little above the campsites at Tamarack Valley. At that point due to the steep angle of the trail, skins wouldn’t keep me from sliding backwards. I tried executing some step turns and making switchbacks but it wasn’t feeling very efficient. Switching to snowshoes with skis strapped on my pack I continued up the east slope.

After having gained a saddle I attempted some reckoning. But by this time the clouds had descended below the summit obscuring a clear view of it. Thinking that Miller peak was to the right and seeing some tracks to the left, I headed south. For the next 20 minutes I could catch occasional glimpses to the west, seeing familiar views of Hemet, Diamond Valley Lake, and Santiago Peak. Logically I knew that these views were not possible if I were still east of the summit. So I did a 180 and headed back. I made it to the summit of San J. at about 2:20. Most all of the rocks that have to be scrambled over in the summer were now totally buried in snow. The wind was blowing but it was not extremely cold. I decided to wait until I could find a more sheltered spot to eat some lunch. I took a quick arm’s-length self portrait, removed the skins and headed down. On my second turn I realized that I had neglected to lock my boots into ski mode. Quick fix and was back on my way.

Now the best part! Back down at the Saddle, I started a gradual descending traverse. Then I realized that this is some good knee deep powder. I carefully pointed my skis down and rounded out an incredible powder turn. WOO-HOO! Another 10 or so turns and the angle lessened. Although not as steep, the snow was still pretty good back to Tamarack Valley. I meandered back & forth following the ascent trail. Now my legs were starting to get that anaerobic downhill muscle burn. I stopped near the big meadow, found a big rock to sit on and had some lunch. The rest of the way out I stayed mostly on the packed trail. Without skins on I had to either side step or take skis off & walk on the five or six short sections of uphill. With skis you really have to manage gravity or you end up having to push & walk more than you need to.

I made it back to the tram station a little after 4:00 p.m. Five hours up, one & a half down. I stopped in for celebratory cold brew & caught the 5:15 tram down. A great work-out and a thrilling descent, what a day!

[EnFuego]

Nice TR. Glad to see the BC skiis worked out for you.

[thejourneyishome]

Rick,

I think that must have been you snowshoeing up to the summit as my friend and I were on the way down. We were surprised not to see more people out past the campsites but it was nice to meet at least one other person headed for the heights on Sunday.

Coming from out of state to attempt this peak I appreciated all the recent trip reports with weather and conditions that I soaked up over the last month on this forum in prep for the snowshoe to the summit. I've got some of my own photos from the day at:
http://thejourneyishome.wordpress.com/2 ... n-jacinto/

Hope you get a lot more snow yet this winter.

[Rick F]

thejourney,

It was nice to see you and your friend last Sunday. Knowing you had reached the top gave me a little mental boost. I really enjoyed those few powder turns coming down the east slope. I know its nothing like Colorado snow but it was great fun for Southern California. At least two other groups reached the summit. One ahead of me and and one group was just arriving as I started down.