Hiking Mt. Baldy

As part of their preparation for the senior trip to Half Dome, three VWS seniors and four senior advisors made the trip up Mt. Baldy last weekend.  They took the long way, up the fire road from Manker Flats, then ascending the Devil's Backbone, and back down the Baldy Bowl trail.  Thanks to Ms. Blomberg for leading this hike!

 Shannon, Emma, Ms. Bauman, Katie, Dr. Smith, and Ms. Lantz on the Devil's Backbone trail.

 The group zig-zags up the final section.

 10,064'!

 Emma leading the way down.  Wreckage from an old airplane crash is near this part of the trail.

Ms. Blomberg, Shannon, and Katie

Hiking Mt. Baldy

A group of fifteen students signed up to hike Mt. Baldy this weekend, barely squeezing with all of our backpacks into the two vans that zig-zagged up to Manker Flats trailhead.  It was a superb group defined by their enthusiasm (singing everything from the Webb school song to "We Wish You a Merry Christmas") and their resiliency on the steep, slippery slopes. We were rewarded with views of  Gorgonio (our original destination before the government shutdown diverted us) and Jacinto at the peak, as well as some surprise snacks and a dinner in the village afterward.  

 Click to enlarge: Alvin, Danielle, Robin, Raymond, Andrew, Devin, Susan, Kristen, Johnathan, Bulat, Alicia, Suyeon, David, Kathy, and Lauren. This shot was a reprise of a similar photo taken on San Jacinto a few weeks ago.  You can see that in an older post on this blog.

 After passing the Sierra Club Hut, we entered the snowy switchbacks of a steep climb to the ridge.  We were aided by "mini-spikes," which are basically mini crampons that we strapped to our shoes for extra traction.

 After the steep climb, we took a well earned rest before resuming the hike.

 Another steep climb awaited, but at least this one was in the sun and didn't require spikes.

 Lauren and Suyeon on the climb -- never too tired to ham it up for the camera.

 Mr. Kozden, Robin, Alvin, and Danielle at the lookout from the top of the climb.

 Kathy

The whole group at the lookout -- Alvin seems to think we're taking the second, "crazy" picture.

10,064'

Above and below, the group zig-zags down -- in the distance you can see why the gear company chose the name "North Face" -- it's always a little snowier on that side of the mountain.  On the south face, you can see a thin line of white outlining the trail down.

 And here's the thin white line you could see in the pictures above.

The final part of the hike crosses the Devil's Backbone, a stretch of trail that drops off steeply on either side.

WSC Freshman Retreat on Mt. Baldy

Imagine traveling hundreds or even thousands of miles to a new school.  Imagine 100 degree heat, saying goodbye to your family, organizing a new room, and having to make a first impression on 50 other people doing the same thing. Now imagine that you are whisked away from the school, driven high into the mountains, fitted with a harness and helmet, and attached to a rope.  The rope plummets over and through a series of waterfalls -- four rappels in all.  And that's your way down.  Who wants to go first?  As it turns out, there was no shortage of excitement in the WSC Class of 2017.  They self-rappelled one after another, getting soaking wet, and taking the plunge -- literally and figuratively -- into high school.  Congratulations on a great freshman retreat!

 On the first rappel, which was dry, Adrian was belayed by Gabe, one of the student leaders on the trip, and the first to volunteer for belay duties.

 The second rappel provided the boys with their first shower of the retreat.  Below are "before, during and after" shots of Parsa entering and emerging from the waterfall.

 

 David happy to be clean.

Andrew F. on the second rappel.

Andrew C. starts his descent down the more technical third rappel.

 Ilya at the base of the third rappel.

Wyatt makes his way beside the waterfall on the fourth rappel.

 One shower wasn't enough for Darren, who jumped back in once he got off rope.

 Since we spent so much time enjoying mother nature, we also spent some time giving back.  The boys did trail maintenance on the Bear Canyon Trail, which runs from Mt. Baldy village all the way to the peak.

And of course there was relaxation.  Here the boys bond over a lively card game.  

Adventure, work, and fun.

Not a bad start to the new year.

The Honor Committee on Mt. Baldy

To kick off the 2013-14 school year, the WSC Honor Committee conducted the first part of their orientation retreat on the peak of Mt. Baldy -- the perfect place to set lofty goals and plan an ambitious year.  After a strenuous hike, we set up camp just below the peak, talked leadership styles, and discussed the educational role of the HC at Webb.  Right before sunset, we all settled in for some quiet reflective time, and then crawled into our sleeping bags and turned our gazes skyward, catching a spectacular show from the Perseid meteor shower.  This group of young men came together both physically and mentally as they set a course to challenge themselves.  Special thanks to Dr. Farke, the HC Advisor, for his leadership on the trip.

 Dr. Farke, James, Joe, Daniel, Ziyad, and Anthony on the way up.

 James looks out over the Baldy Bowl.

 Daniel near our campsite

 Mt. Baldy -- 10,064'

 The 2013-14 WSC Honor Committee

 Joe at sunset

 After camping under the shooting stars, the groups heads back into the valley the next morning.

 On our way down, we were fortunate to have a close encounter with a fearless ram, which the group quickly decided would be its mascot this year.

Mt. Baldy in the snow

Very rarely do I get to take a "school trip" over winter break, but I was lucky to make it to Mt. Baldy yesterday with Shihan, class of 2011, who was home from college for the holidays. I laid in bed the night before listening to the rain, yearning to be in the mountains where it was a proper winter.  When I called around to see if anyone was interested in going up with me, Shihan was instantly excited.  Though he hasn't done much hiking, he just ran a marathon in about 2 hours and 50 minutes (qualifying for Boston!), so he has the lungs and legs to do it.  It was a tough trek to the peak, especially since we were post-holing after the Sierra Club hut, but the wind was relatively calm, and when the sun made it through the active clouds, it was downright balmy (does it have to be above freezing to be balmy?).  More than anything, it was a surreal glimpse into winter, as it coated all the desert plants with snow.

 Shihan makes his way up to the Sierra Club hut.

 Snow always makes an old trail seem new, but it can also lead to challenges in route finding.  The trail is there...somewhere.

 This rabbit seemed to know where it was going.

 We were in and out of clouds for most of the trip. Here the wisps cleared to reveal the cumulous clouds hanging in the valley.

 The final push to the peak

 We were joined at the top by another hiker, who was grateful to follow in our tracks and kind enough to take this photo.

 This sign marks the way down...at least we think it does.

 Shihan refuels under this windswept tree.

 The Devil's Backbone is the hallmark of the descent from Baldy to the ski area.