Which mountains were these? (San Bernardino, Mission Viejo: area, distance, snow)

[Sambazon]

A few days ago I was driving northbound on I-5 near San Juan Capistrano/Mission Viejo right around the area of the entrance to the hwy73. In the distance I noticed some beautiful snowy mountains in the background, and they weren't visible again until I drove eastbound on the 91 and hit the Glendora/San Dimas area in the valley via I-210.

I'm just curious as to which mountains I was looking at. San Bernardino Mtns.? San Gabriel? Big Bear?

[Sassberto]

Originally Posted by Sambazon

A few days ago I was driving northbound on I-5 near San Juan Capistrano/Mission Viejo right around the area of the entrance to the hwy73. In the distance I noticed some beautiful snowy mountains in the background, and they weren't visible again until I drove eastbound on the 91 and hit the Glendora/San Dimas area in the valley via I-210.

I'm just curious as to which mountains I was looking at. San Bernardino Mtns.? San Gabriel? Big Bear?

Probably the San Jacinto / San Gorgonio complex... San Bernardino Mountains. San Gabriels are really north of LA and Big Bear is more to the northeast.

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by Sambazon

A few days ago I was driving northbound on I-5 near San Juan Capistrano/Mission Viejo right around the area of the entrance to the hwy73. In the distance I noticed some beautiful snowy mountains in the background, and they weren't visible again until I drove eastbound on the 91 and hit the Glendora/San Dimas area in the valley via I-210.

I'm just curious as to which mountains I was looking at. San Bernardino Mtns.? San Gabriel? Big Bear?

If they were north of the Glendora/San Dimas area, then they were the San Gabriels, which run east/west along the northern edge of the L.A. basin. The highest point in this range is Mt. San Antonio (also well known locally as Mt. Baldy) at 10,064 feet.

The San Bernardino Mountains are east of there, generally between the Cajon Pass on I-15 and the Banning Pass on I-10, to the east of I-15, and north of I-10. Mt. San Gorgonio is the highest peak in the San Bernardino Range, and even in all of Southern California, at 11,502 feet.

The mountains south of I-10 are the San Jacintos. Mt. San Jacinto is the highest peak in this range, at 10,834 feet. All of these ranges would have had snow on them in the last few weeks.

I hope that helps you figure out which range you were looking at, and possibly even which peak(s) you had seen.

[Winston Smith]

Mt. Baldy in the San Gabriel Mountains west of I-15; San Bernardino Mountains and Mt. San Gorgonio east of I-15; Mt. San Jacinto south of I-10 at Banning. Real nice to look at these days.