The Crags and Baldy Rocks

Followed up an old skin highway to the Crags col, started 1 deg C from the parking lot. Went up the ridge towards the Crags but the wind was fierce and cold so we turned around at the far west end of the ridge. The ski down from the crags was not great, that south-facing sun crust really affected ski quality and there was plenty of sluffing of the new snow off this harder layer. We kept to mellow open trees where we could enjoy the snow without it slipping off the crust. After a warm-up at the Ripple Hut we went up Baldy Rocks. Fantastic skin track to follow to the summit up the south ridge. Dropping off the summit onto the north ridge felt somewhat intimidating and narrow (with steep slopes on either side), but the ridge turned into a great north-facing run through open trees with awesome powder. The storm slab peeled off in a few steep places causing some slightly bigger sluffs - definitely something to watch out for if more snow arrives. North facing slopes very definitely have the best skiing! Another fun day up in the pass.