Trails on Mt. Baldy, the towering peak that looms over Southern California and has lured many inexperienced and under-equipped hikers to their deaths, will be closed for the next two weeks.
Angeles National Forest officials issued the closure order Tuesday morning in anticipation of a winter storm that is expected to dump heavy snow on the 10,000-foot summit.
Three hikers died after sliding off the icy, narrow Devil’s Backbone trail and plummeting to their deaths following a storm in December. In the last decade, 23 people have died on the mountain, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, whose search and rescue unit has responded to hundreds of calls for help on Mt. Baldy in that period.
“The frequency of rescues our department is involved in annually, and the lack of concern for what’s happening on Mt. Baldy by those who are responsible for maintaining visitor’s safety needs to be addressed,” San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said in a statement last month. “For the last several years, our department has been trying to have the U.S. Forest Service more involved in keeping people safe while they recreate on Mt Baldy.”
Angeles National Forest officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the closure order has sparked a social media backlash from experienced climbers who argue their access should not be limited because of mistakes made by the unskilled and untrained.
For about half of the year, the top of Mt. Baldy — it’s formally Mount San Antonio, but everyone calls it Baldy — looks like a winter wonderland to millions of people living below.
So, despite flashing signs on the access road that say “WARNING ICY TRAILS” and “HIKING NOT ADVISED,” many Angelenos with little experience in the mountains — let alone in snow — have been unable to resist the gleaming white summit.
That allure, and the easy access from a huge urban area, have combined to give the relatively low-key mountain one of the worst records for death and injury in the U.S.
Many people who get in trouble have hiked it in shorts and tennis shoes during the summer when it’s a slog — the most popular route is about 10 miles long and requires 4,000 ft of elevation gain — but not particularly dangerous.
It can be hard to imagine how much Mt. Baldy changes after a winter storm, when the upper reaches are blanketed in snow and ice and a slip in the wrong place can lead to a catastrophic, unstoppable fall.
Even experienced mountaineers, like British actor Julian Sands, have died on Mt. Baldy during winter storms after apparently underestimating its dangers. Sands fell from a ridge above a popular winter mountaineering section known as the Baldy Bowl in January 2023.
Instead of sliding into the well-traveled bowl, where he probably would have been spotted fairly quickly, Sands fell down the other side, into the rarely visited Goode Canyon. Despite multiple searches, on foot and by helicopter, Sands’ whereabouts were a mystery for five months, until hikers stumbled across his remains in June.
Still, Mt. Baldy is easily the best and most popular place for Southern California mountaineers to practice their winter skills, and the closure isn’t sitting well with them.
“Blanket closures deny access to people trained and competent to enjoy recreation in challenging conditions,” Chris Savage wrote in the comments beneath the closure order posted on Facebook. “I understand you don’t want to be rescuing the many clueless who wander up there. There needs to be a better system.”
“Closure isn’t conservation,” wrote Howie Bohl. “Proper education and enforcement of climbing equipment is a much better option.”
Others questioned whether the Forest Service has the means to enforce such a closure — it’s pretty difficult to physically seal off a mountain.
Most people “probably won’t even see the notice unless it is posted at all the trailheads and even then — without rangers denying access on the spot, people will ignore the signs,” wrote Tria Belcourt.
Violating a closure order is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and six months in prison, although such severe punishment is rare.
The much bigger risk for anyone considering venturing to Mt. Baldy’s upper reaches following the storm will come from the mountain itself.
In addition to clothing that protects against the wind and cold, anyone attempting to climb steep terrain covered in snow and ice should have mountaineering boots, heavy metal crampons and an ice ax. It’s essential to have practiced “self-arresting” on a hillside that’s steep enough to simulate what a serious fall would feel like, but short enough so failing to stop won’t be fatal.
A helmet is also crucial, to protect from snow and ice falling from above.
There is little to no cell service on many parts of Mt. Baldy, so traveling in groups and bringing a device capable of sending messages via satellite — like a Garmin InReach or recent model iPhone — is an extremely good idea.
