Reviews by others from the last few days are right on the money. First, the positives. I've been to Baldy many times and the snow conditions were probably the best I've seen. Thunder Mt. was especially good. The recent storms also made for good coverage; to avoid the crowds, I skied under chairlift 1 all afternoon. There were some rocky patches here and there, but if you knew what you were doing (and you shouldn't be there if you didn't), you could avoid them.
As for the negatives, I'll add to what the others have said.
One, the staff was at their usual -- LOW -- standard. Baldy has armed (handguns) security staff at the parking lot and they made sure everyone knew that they meant business. They kept screaming at people to move; at one point one of the guards yelled, "hey, you motherf##**!" Without realizing it, the poor fellow at whom that comment was aimed had stepped onto the ski run by the side of the parking lot as he was trying to walk up to the ticket booths. Wow.
Two, the lines... the lines!!! Lift ticket lines stretched from the ticket booths all the way down and into the parking lot. The service staff by the ticket lines gave me contradictory information as to which line I should be in.
The crowds were horrendous. In late morning, the line for chairlift 4 stretched well into the Turkey Shoot trail. Lines were no better for chair 3. It was crazy. And despite all this, they allowed singles to ride the lift at chair 4. Think of it; the line stretches off into the distance up the trail and the two bored-looking attendants are sitting by their shack (not even helping people with the lift) and letting people go in singles. Kind of sums up their attitude.
The staff attitude also showed on my last run down under chair 1. Recyclables (cans and bottles) from the lodge are transported down to the base by chairlift. Well, the attendants didn't secure the container sufficiently and its contents fell down onto the slope. So, all of a sudden, I was skiing amidst hundreds of plastic soda bottles and beer cans. Thanks, Baldy staff, for tying that box so well and making the experience so... memorable.
There are a few staff at Baldy who seem more friendly and who do not seem to hate their jobs. But they're a minority.
Three, I really wonder about safety issues with the chairlifts. At one point, chair 1 was stopped for almost 10 minutes. Then it started and was down again for a few minutes. And the condition of the chairs is not the greatest. Many chairs had their wooden boards broken or missing in places.
And four, there was traffic. The problem is that all of the Inland Empire showed up for snowplay. It took 90 minutes to get down from the parking lot to Claremont. The reason was just too many cars on the road, poor drivers, and people parked in all kinds of places where they should not be parked. And this was after CHP closed access to the mountain in the afternoon.
All in all, a fun day skiing. Baldy has potential. With a management company that actually knows how to run a business, the place could be updated and modernized. Access is still going to be difficult and crowds after a snow storm are going to be a part of the package. But dealing with Baldy staff that treats skiers and riders as the enemy just diminishes the experience.