Base Camp

The Southern California Ranges

steeps, sunshine, and (hopefully) snow

The San Gabriel Mountains from Highway 395

The same features that make the Los Angeles Basin so smoggy make the winters a time of unexpected skiing pleasures.

Southern California is home to three major ranges, the 11,500' San Bernardino Mountains, the sheer San Jacinto Mountains, at just under 11,000', and the San Gabriel Mountains, 10,000' high.

Consider this: all three ranges rise directly above the sea level lowlands of the Los Angeles Basin, providing dramatic vertical relief (some rank Mt. San Jacinto among the world's greatest in this regard).

Each range offers a uniquely distinctive character. Covered in winter's snow—often many feet of the stuff, thanks to the vigorous Pacific winter storm track—the mountains are transformed into a winter playground that is not merely a training ground for the larger ranges to the north, but a fine destination in itself.

• Mount Baldy the pinnacle of the San Gabriel Mountains offers a surprising range of technical terrain, dominated by cliffs, chutes, and high-altitude bowls. Baldy's 'powder' redefines Sierra Cement, but its corn snow can be spectacular.

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