Letters to the Editor: Permits won't deter hikers who have no business on Mt. Baldy

Los Angeles Times Opinion
·2 min read
Andrew Tully, 32 of Brentwood, looks at San Antonio Falls while split boarding on the San Antonio Falls trail, on Mt. San Antonio (Mt. Baldy) in the San Gabriel Mountains on Sunday, March 5, 2023. Recent storms have left an unusual amount of snow in the local mountains.
A split boarder looks at San Antonio Falls near Mt. Baldy on March 5, 2023. (Raul Roa / Los Angeles Times)

To the editor: Mt. Baldy, the tallest of the San Gabriel Mountains, is well known to be one of the most dangerous mountains in the United States in terms of rescues and fatalities. It lures the unwary, the unprepared and the unsuspecting. ("Winter permits for Mt. Baldy could save lives of hikers — and rescuers," editorial, March 11)

I have climbed Baldy, formally known as Mt. San Antonio, in winter conditions numerous times and have encountered many who had no business out there. But your editorial’s recommendation of a winter permit system premised on watching a short video and answering a few questions would do little or nothing to alleviate the problem of keeping the unprepared and inexperienced from venturing forth in winter conditions.

It should be noted that "hiking" is an inappropriate term in this context. Ascending Baldy in winter conditions is mountaineering and involves a skill set and equipment requirements quite different from hiking. Simply providing cautionary information will not persuade those who are too inexperienced to back off.

To be sure, more extreme measures, such as closing the mountain under certain conditions, likely would save lives and reduce the number of rescues, but that seems the equivalent of driving tanks instead of cars to reduce highway deaths. We'll just have to abide those few who refuse to exercise sound judgment.

Agustin Medina, South Pasadena

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To the editor: I have hiked Mt. Baldy and the nearby Cucamonga Wilderness for about 40 years. I am dismayed by the deaths on Baldy, often involving hikers who are ill prepared.

But a permit system without enforcement will be ignored by people who are determined to do whatever they want, whenever they want.

The Cucamonga Wilderness has required permits for many years. I have been asked to show my permit only one time, by a U.S. Forest Service volunteer, and that was many years ago.

Karen Gustafson, Long Beach

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.