Some Mt. Baldy trails reopen despite dangerous conditions – NBC Los Angeles

Some trails in the Mount Baldy area have reopened after three hikers fell to their death last month despite dangerous conditions on snow and ice-covered tracks.

Officials from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department announced the reopening of the trails Thursday, joined by a couple of hikers who were rescued from the San Gabriel Mountains last year.

“Mt. Baldy is not your day hike after storms,” Eric Vetere, West Valley search and rescue commander for the sheriff’s department. “It’s really is a mountaineering-type climb, wearing correct microspikes and having an ice hack.”

Manuel Vasquez, one of the hikers who were rescued last year, admitted that he did not do enough research to understand how dangerous conditions may have been.

“Since it was in our backyard, we thought we were going to be OK,” he said.

Vasquez said he and his cousin, Daniel Ortiz Gutierrez, thought they were going for an easy hike until they fell on the side of the trail.

“I fell first. My cousin came in and tried to help me. We both ended up stranded up there,” Vasquez explained.

Gutierrez, who was in bad shape before the helicopters came and rescued them, said he suffered from hypothermia, a collapsed lung and multiple bone fractures.

“I was bleeding within my skull, blunt heat trauma. Pretty long recovery, and I was really close to death,” Gutierrez said.

The parents of Marcus Muench Casanova, the 19-year-old hiker who died while hiking on Mt. Baldy, also urged hikers to avoid the area during winter months unless they are highly experienced and trained.

“After a certain date, Mt. Baldy stops being a hike. It’s no longer a hike,” Ken Casanova said, adding his son’s death was “entirely preventable.”

The family said they want the mountain authorities to implement a permit system for those wanting to hike Mt. Baldy during the winter months.