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Comment by Tracy Van Wie on February 25, 2011 at 8:56pm

Hi Zuptich -I'm in Southern CA and have been up Mt. Baldy a number of times in the summer.  Winter of course is a different story, and you're right to seek out people to climb with.  There are a few Meetup.com groups in SoCal (one of them called SoCal PeakBaggers or something like that).  Lots of people there that you can learn from, and hikes you can join in on.   

Additionally, the Sierra Club LA / OC chapter has a course they offer each year called WTC - Wilderness Travel Course.  They will help you gear up for safe hiking, backpacking, and if you charm the right instructors, you can find the mountaineers in the group who are excellent teachers.  

http://www.wildernesstravelcourse.org/

The Sierra Mountain Center in Bishop has classes that are highly respected: http://www.sierramountaincenter.com/skillbuilding.html

There are also regional message boards that will have lots of knowledgeable folks you can ask:

Whitney Portal Store:  http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/cfrm

San Gorgonio Wilderness Assoc.

http://members.boardhost.com/sgva/   There will be Baldy talk on that board as well as San G. 

Good luck, and be safe! 

Comment by Roger Brower on December 5, 2010 at 12:48pm

I have been only once In Zion Utah, it was awesome. I suggest looking for a Mountaineering company that does guide tours.

Comment by Zuptich on January 11, 2010 at 9:00pm

hello, i'm not a mountaineer. at least not yet, but i need the advice of some experienced people. do any of you happen to be from southern california? have you climbed mt. baldy?
ummm, i guess i'll start with those, but no matter the answers i'll have some questions for you. and if none of you are, maybe i'll be charming enuf to get one of you to roll out here and take me on my first winter mountain climb. haha but seriously, i have no friends with this skill set and i don't want to do it alone the 1st time