Another Hill off my list ... Baldy Ski Lifts

This past weekend, I went down for my monthly visit to see my dad in LA ... and while I'm down there, I might as well do some riding, right?

The plan was to do Baldy, with possibilities of doing the Ski Lifts.  Teresa had done Cool Breeze Double Metric on Saturday, so we were going to take it easy today ... well, that was the plan at least.  Before starting, Vic discovered the tread on his tire was very low ... in fact, we could see threading on the tire.  Egads, looks like he'll be going slow on the descents.

We went up the backside up GMR (i.e.  up Hwy 39, then over to East Fork Road).  Re-fuel at the prerequisite Camp Williams Cafe, then the climbing will begin.

Three other riders left Camp Williams along with us to go up GMR.  As we leave, we notice a pretty noticeable stench there ... almost like someone was lighting one up, and it wasn't of the tobacco variety either!  Oooh weee!

As we climb, these three riders were on a time trial mission (or so it seemed).  They just took off, and I could not see them at all in front of me.  Vic was able to keep up with them, but Teresa and I would have to meet him up at the top of the ridge.

After a little rest at the junction of GMR and GRR, we forge on ahead ... 12 miles worth, according to the sign.  It makes it seem like a long grind ... well, it's not all up.  There are some descents, but it is mostly a climb up.

No matter how many times I do this, and no matter what good or bad fit shape I'm in, I always seem to have difficulty in the last 3 miles of the climb.  Why is that?  I start thinking that I may not have much left in the tank for the ski lift ... hopefully, Vic will decide to just have lunch at the village.

We get to the village, and Vic says he's going to the ski lift ... damn, he's gonna make me go do the climb.  Ok, here we go ... time to HTFU.

The climb to the village was hard, but it was only ranging from 5-8% at the most difficult spots (although it is for 12 miles).  Looking at the stats, the grade doesn't look that much more difficult ... it goes up to 12%, but remember, we've had 40 miles and 5000 feet of climbing in our legs already.

The temps itself weren't too bad.  I think the max I saw was ~ 95 F, but hot enough to make me needing to take a bunch of rests.  One good thing on the ski lift climb ... there are some shades to duck under, just in case you need it ... and I did need it on a few occasions.  Switch back after switch back, and continue to grind it up ...

There were several spots where I stopped, and seriously considered going back down.  I would see some people driving up, and giving me encouragement with a thumbs up ... others???  they were probably thinking WTF is up with that idiot.  What I was really looking for was Vic to come down, and if he went down, I would too.  I keep climbing, but no Vic ... damn, he's gonna make me climb it all the way to the top.

Soon, I see a 400 ft till end of road sign, and that gave me some confidence (notice I did not say motivation???).  Then, I see the Baldy Ski Lift sign, and now all I remember doing was burying my head down, not looking up, and just keep turning the crank, one revolution at a time.  I hear Vic's voice, encouraging me on, and that did help me a little bit.  Finally, made it to the top, and after a few minutes, I get my heart rate down enough so that I can balance myself, and observe where I'm at.

 Whew ... that was one tough #^%^$#$.  I catch my breath long enough for Vic to take a pic, proving I was here.

At least I can now say that I climbed up Baldy Ski Lifts.  I can now see why the riders were dropping like flies on ATOC this year.  I can't imagine Horner going up this thing at 18 mph.  That's insane.

Back to the village for a nice bucket of fries and potato skins.  May not be healthy, but hey, this was a tough climb, and I think we earned it.