SoCal Kick-Off

I was up last Thursday from 1 to 4.

I skied mostly the Emile's section right under thunder and Robin's trees.

Emile's softened up a bit and was fun. Robin's was a bit wind affected, but there were some good turns.

I didn't think it was soft enough to ski to the lot, but the coverage is great.

I also skied Saturday from around noon to maybe 330.

Saturday was a blast. Emile's bowl had really nice, wintery snow which was not too wind affected. I spent most of the day there, about 6-7 laps, I just couldn't leave.

I decided to go into herb's, and it was pretty crusty up high with the occasional good turn. About half way down it got better, but still interesting. I would wait for a day with a bit more sun, but I really love herb's.

I also took a couple of laps in goldridge. It was fun and wintery, but not as good as Emile's bowl.

I didn't ski the line under thunder, I don't know how soft it got.

Once again I decided against skiing down. I was pretty spent and I didn't know if it was soft. The good thing is the lot runs have great coverage.

I have some video and pictures I will post later this week. The coverage is awesome and the mountain is skiing really well. Get out there if you get the chance.

Here is a video from the days described in my post above.

It runs long, but I left some stuff in to give a good idea of just what the coverage is like. Some of the cat track footage allows good views of the mountain and a good idea of how things are now. I would definitely recommend people to go up.

I will probably be up Sunday, possibly Saturday. Red marker mogul pants, grey jacket, black helmet, gopro. Give me a shout if you see me.https://youtu.be/U4qnynNoa2Y

Pretty fun today. Def spring conditions. 4 closed at noon for staffing issues 🤨🤨🤨

I skied one lap on 4 and coverage decent, getting thin. Good up on 3 overall. Off piste is… borderline unpleasant




Btw, wife having lots of boot issues. We in Pasadena but will travel far for good bootfitter. Any suggestions??


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Question: Spending two days coming up at Snow Valley on the Indy Pass. Any places to boondock nearbyish? Have an SUV so am fairly discrete. I have not been there in the winter. Would not mind being around other campers.

I haven't been up that way this winter so not sure on snowpack and gates but will PM you an idea. Snow Valley is pretty chill, they might be ok with you parking overnight in the lot...or not, it is SoCal.

Unless you are with beginners, you might get bored at Snow Valley for 2 days. Depending on day/conditions, might be worth buying a lift ticket to Mt. Baldy if you have never been there.

SV security locks the parking lot gates around dusk, at least they used to. Great beginner area.

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Originally Posted by Deep Days

Pretty fun today. Def spring conditions. 4 closed at noon for staffing issues ������

I skied one lap on 4 and coverage decent, getting thin. Good up on 3 overall. Off piste is… borderline unpleasant




Btw, wife having lots of boot issues. We in Pasadena but will travel far for good bootfitter. Any suggestions??


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GOSEY!!! You're in Pasadena? We need to grab turns/beers.


For boots -- there's a Surefoot in LA somewhere and SkiNet in the valley. Shitfoot is, well, Shitfoot. Haven't been to the guy in the Valley, but they're ABB affiliated so I'm thinking they can't be bad. Your best bet is a trip to Mammoth -- Footloose, Kittredge, etc.

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Originally Posted by Speedfreak

GOSEY!!! You're in Pasadena? We need to grab turns/beers.


For boots -- there's a Surefoot in LA somewhere and SkiNet in the valley. Shitfoot is, well, Shitfoot. Haven't been to the guy in the Valley, but they're ABB affiliated so I'm thinking they can't be bad. Your best bet is a trip to Mammoth -- Footloose, Kittredge, etc.

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Looks like SkiNet is closed, along with Docs in Santa Monica. Surefoot is still open in Santa Monica.

Mammoth is probably the way to go. Others seem to really like Footloose but I don't think I'd go back to them for bootfitting. Good selection of boots, and everyone is friendly enough, but they didn't seem terribly invested in actually making adjustments or really getting things dialed.

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Originally Posted by Speedfreak

GOSEY!!! You're in Pasadena? We need to grab turns/beers.

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I’m thinking the same!

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Originally Posted by Deep Days

Pretty fun today. Def spring conditions. 4 closed at noon for staffing issues ������

I skied one lap on 4 and coverage decent, getting thin. Good up on 3 overall. Off piste is… borderline unpleasant




Btw, wife having lots of boot issues. We in Pasadena but will travel far for good bootfitter. Any suggestions??


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I don't really know of anyone down here. I had a buddy who got boots done at the Santa Monica Surefoot and he liked the work, but that was a number of years ago.

I've been in Sufefoot liners for years. They have always done a good job for me. Both my wife and I got ours done in Mammoth and I would highly recommend them. I don't have any experience with either Footloose or Kittredge.

Will anyone be up at Baldy this weekend? I will probably go up tomorrow or Sunday, very possibly both. I will likely be up in the afternoon. Grey jacket, red pants with black mogul patches, black helmet with gopro, probably skiing Armada JJs. Give me a shout if you see me.

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Originally Posted by Jumper Bones

I’m thinking the same!

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Brews & turns mini-summit?

Preston at Kitteridge for the win. I had good luck with him a few times. Not such good luck at Footloose, though the word is Corry is the one of two guys to use there (I don't know the other.)

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Originally Posted by hutash

Preston at Kitteridge for the win. I had good luck with him a few times. Not such good luck at Footloose, though the word is Corry is the one of two guys to use there (I don't know the other.)

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Not sure, but perhaps the other person you are referring to is Kevin? He helped me with the purchase of my boots and worked with me several times to get them absolutely dialed, including making additional room for my ridiculously large navicular bone and eliminating some shin bang. He is a stand up guy and very knowledgeable. Unfortunately, I have found it more difficult to schedule times with him recently, not sure if he is reducing his work hours or he is just really popular. FYI I believe there are two Kevins at Footloose, the "older" Kevin is who has helped me in the past.

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Originally Posted by Pinned

Looks like SkiNet is closed, along with Docs in Santa Monica. Surefoot is still open in Santa Monica.

Mammoth is probably the way to go. Others seem to really like Footloose but I don't think I'd go back to them for bootfitting. Good selection of boots, and everyone is friendly enough, but they didn't seem terribly invested in actually making adjustments or really getting things dialed.

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The only remaining dedicated ski shop that I know of in the LA area is Sports LTD in Woodland Hills. I try to give them my business when I can because they are a family-run ski shop and really the last of their kind. They have done work of my skis multiple times and I've had no complaints. The young guy who works in ski sales (sorry don't remember his name) knows his stuff. I have not had any boot work done from them though. I would love to hear if anybody has had experience in that department. They certainly do a ton of business, it seems there are several people buying boots each time I am there.

I skied yesterday afternoon at Baldy. It was cool and windy, which kept everything off-groomer quite firm. I ended up just doing 10 groomer laps and calling it. The groomers were nice, a bit firm in spots but edgeable.

I saw a few people going off-piste, and it didn't look fun. I'd wait for warmer temps, or less wind, or more snow.

The coverage is still great, if it warms up enough to soften things it should be fun. Things have melted out on the lot runs, more snow is needed for those.

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Originally Posted by bry

Its still there, only driven past, to me reads more like a snow tubing location with an ain't-worth-it vibe


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Just wanted to say I was out skiing Summit this week ripping hard and fast groomers and Snow Valley was jamming. Looked like a great family place. Packed too!

There's that other place down the road that is for snow tubing specifically. That confused me, apologies.

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Originally Posted by Ninjax

The only remaining dedicated ski shop that I know of in the LA area is Sports LTD in Woodland Hills. I try to give them my business when I can because they are a family-run ski shop and really the last of their kind. They have done work of my skis multiple times and I've had no complaints. The young guy who works in ski sales (sorry don't remember his name) knows his stuff. I have not had any boot work done from them though. I would love to hear if anybody has had experience in that department. They certainly do a ton of business, it seems there are several people buying boots each time I am there.

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Baker Street Snow Company in Costa Mesa is legit. They really know their stuff. I know they sell boots, but I don't know anything about their bootfitting. They have done great work on my skis on numerous occasions.

I'll be out at Baldy late morning if anyone is around.

Baldy was fun yesterday mid-day for around 10 groomer laps.

The off-piste is still pretty bullet proof anywhere I checked. I looked at the entrance to Robin's Trees and the area under Thunder, but even by 1 it did not appear to be getting soft. Andy's and Herb's might have been getting soft towards the end of the day, but I didn't stay to find out. I guess the good thing is that the snow is sticking around. The coverage is still great.

Obviously more snow would be great, but if I don't hit Mammoth next weekend I really hope it is a bit warmer, it would be nice if things softened up so I could ski something other than a groomer. Still, Skyline was a blast. The crew is doing a great job with what they have.

thanks for the conditions update, with how warm the forecast and no wind, I was tempted to go up Sunday, but glad I went mountain biking. The January high pressure waiting game can be tough. Fingers crossed for Feb storm.

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Originally Posted by 406

tFingers crossed for Feb storm.

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Well I'll be out of town for two weeks, so I'd say the odds for that are pretty strong.

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Originally Posted by 406

thanks for the conditions update, with how warm the forecast and no wind, I was tempted to go up Sunday, but glad I went mountain biking. The January high pressure waiting game can be tough. Fingers crossed for Feb storm.

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Honestly, I saw the temperature forecast and thought it would soften up.

I left around 2, so Andy's and Herb's MIGHT have gotten soft enough to ski, but I'm really not sure. I was a bit disappointed.

I'm going to go at least one day this weekend, probably Sunday. If it looks like Saturday might soften up I might go then, but given how last Sunday was and what the forecast for this Saturday is it's questionable. There's no surf though, and the groomers should at least be good both days.

I was able to get in an afternoon yesterday, Monday, and it ended up being really fun.

As I was going up the lift from the lot I could feel the wind, so I figured it would be firm and it would be a groomer day.

The upper skyline groomer is awesome, really nice. It makes sense to cut into the Emile's groomer and avoid the bottom of sky line. After about 5 of those I decided to try Emile's bowl. It was not great, it had slightly softened in spots, but the snow was really strange. It was a combination of stuff that was icy and had a weird pattern and stuff that was a bit soft and had a weird pattern. It was actually relieved when it narrowed into the gully and I was skiing stuff which was a bit icy, but more predictable.

On the next run up I looked over and saw some guys in Andy's and it looked good. I went over and tried to find a good entrance, but couldn't. I ended up taking the groomer down.

I went back up, determined to find the entrance, and while I was poking around the two guys came back, so I was able to follow them in. The entrance I used is about 50 yards to the skier's left of the pole, with the pole being to the skier's left of the pole with the cross, if that makes sense. It is not obvious. It was soft getting in, then bullet proof, then weird rutted slush. Doable but interesting. After you get in you have to cut skier's right and head to the main Andy's gully. That area was awesome, it makes sense to follow the defined path, and that was beautiful, packed down slush as opposed to the unconsolidated stuff, but it ended up being great turns. The coverage is still good, just a couple of rocks showing. These are the best turns I have had at Baldy in a couple of weeks. I ended up lapping that about 4 more times. It is really fun in there if you can find your way in.

The good thing about the wind keeping things firm is that the coverage is still very good.

I got on Thunder at about 1230, banged out about 12 laps and was back in the parking lot at 345. I love being able to get some work done in the morning and then go do that, it's days like yesterday that I feel really lucky.

That Andy's entrance is not easy to find though, and it is interesting in spots.

The crew is doing a really great job, but it would be nice to get more snow. I forgot the gopro so I don't have any footage, but the coverage does not seem all that different from last weekend.

Saturday afternoon, yesterday, was really fun.

I started out with two skyline groomers, which were fun. It was a bit slushy, but far from sticky. I followed that with four Emile's laps, which were awesome. It had loosened up, not really sticky and the stuff in the shape was loose while the stuff in the sun was nice slush. Nothing grabby, just fun. I then finished with four Andy's laps, which were awesome as well. Andy's gets more sun, and it was classic slush. There were rocks present, it is Baldy, but the entrance right by the pole was soft and very easy.

It was the best Baldy day I have had in a while. I though about going back up today, but decided on a surf. If you are debating and don't care about the Super Bowl I would say go.

I will post a video later, but the tide has dropped and I need to get to the HB pier.

EDIT: Here is a video of yesterday. The first two lines are Andy's, the next two are Emile's.https://youtu.be/VYa9U4z2Gsc

Let's hope this next storm gives a bit of a refresh. I'm not expecting anything huge, but everything helps.

wound up skiing Snow Valley two weeks ago on my Indy Pass and have to comment on what a surprising and unique spot it was. It was a Saturday and they started letting skiers load the lift at 8:20 a.m. Got crazy crowded down low by lunch and getting to the base the place looked like the beaches of normandy with bodies scattered everywhere, bizarre lift corral lines, people trying to board the lift carrying their skis, you name it. Up high though, when Slide Peak opened, was fascinating, skiing among the manzanita, and this guy at the top lift shack burning nag champa and playing spacey music from a huge sound system while overlooking whatever part of LA that is 7000 feet below -- never experienced anything like that.