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Mt. Baldy Snowboard Zone
Riders Guide – Mt. Baldy enjoys an average of 170 inches of snowfall per year – more than twice that of Big Bear. Baldy is justly billed as the largest and steepest, most intense terrain in all of Southern Cal. The runs are rated 20% for Beginner, 40% Intermediate, 20% Advanced and 20% that are decidedly Double-Black Expert. The quad chairs will take you up some seriously steep mountainsides, affording a first glimpse of what the mountain has in store. The longest run is some 2.5 miles, down a mountain that boasts more than 2100 vertical feet! And yes, the entire mountain is open for snowboarding!
Parks and Pipes – The whole mountain can be ridden, but once you get up to Chair 3 the resort really opens up for you. That's where you'll find everything from Double Black Diamonds and trees to a handful of beginner slopes. When there's a recent storm, the powder is un-freakin'-real! One of the great things about this mountain is that it's not crowded; Even though you're right there in southern Cal, long lift lines don't exist, and decent powder is the rule. Ride on up Chair 4, and there's a terrain park off of to your left. The standards are all there, jumps, rails, pretty much everything you might want to play on. Oh, and it just so happens that the first annual “Money In The Bank” rail jam is also scheduled to start in 2007 – purse of $1500 for starters!
Out of Bounds – Some of the best snowboarding may be found in the backcountry. You'll want to use good sense, especially just after a major storm, but if you're willing to go that little extra, you'll find some outrageous terrain, lots of challenges and beaucoup buckets of powder! Trees? Yeah, they've definitely got them, but the underbrush isn't often dense. And there's nothing more glorious than looking out while you're heading down a 10,000 foot mountain and seeing the Catalina Islands off in the distance!
Hangout & Hookup – You may be tempted to get your hotel room in L.A. Don't do it. You'll waste precious time on the slopes getting through L.A.'s daytime traffic every day. If you can, rent a room or cabin locally and head on in for après-ski at night. What is there to do? You mean aside from the local spots, right? We're talking about Los Angeles here. Just 45 miles from the mountain, you're in the place where nightlife was invented! The House of Blues, Roxy, the entire Sunset Strip, Hard Rock Cafe, Johnny Rockets, not to mention thousands of restaurants, bars and pubs, scores of Indy live music venues... the Greek Amphitheater, Universal Studios... It just doesn't matter what you're after, from Classical symphonies to heavy metal concerts, the Comedy Club... Dining is whatever your heart desires, too! In a place like L.A., the only hard part is deciding what you want that evening!
The Sum-Up – When Mount Baldy's got it, it's got it good, and there's nothing anywhere in Southern California to even begin to compete with it. The terrain is surprisingly good, challenging, the rates are very reasonable, and it's an hour from one of the most diverse and engaging cities in the world!
