Baldy's Skirt

Type: Backcountry or Sidecountry

You can ride this and Klondike in an out-and-back loop. Take the Klondike Approach but instead of riding the Klondike Mountain Descent, head down the ridge line going due north towards the looming Arapahoe Peak. You'll arrive in the saddle between Klondike and Baldy looking up a low-angle wind lip ridge. Head right up that keeping the ridge to your left. It's not too steep but some switchbacking may be required. Once you're up the ridge, it's a bit of a false summit and you can continue up as far as the snow goes.

Follow your ascent back down and ride the ridge with wind lips or head more left (east) at the false summit to ride the glades and open field back into the drainage. Carry some speed and keep heading east until you meet back up with the skin track to Klondike Mountain Ascent. With poles, a splitboarder can make it almost all the way back to where the trail splits for the Caribou Approach (maybe on your second time when you know your way).

These runs are great for Caribou, not really amazing, but also short and easy to lap. Almost steep enough for some jumps on certain little lips.

You can head straight here following the Klondike Mountain Ascent by heading northwest around Klondike Mountain and then due west, following the wide open drainage. Then head up Bald Mountain when the glades start opening uphill to your right (north). Continue tracking uphill along the trees with the open areas to your left (south).

When you gain some elevation, you'll start heading more northerly. You can't go too far west because the west side of the ridge is windswept rocks down to Hessie Trail. If you reach the west edge, just head uphill anyways. The ridge line is the only place with snow once you get up to a certain point. Go up as far as you want but it just gets thinner and crunchier until it's all windswept rocks.

The run is the place between the western edge of the ridge and the western edge of Bald Mountain (it's bald and rocky). I usually follow the wind lips back down until the run opens back up to the left. You can stick more left (east) and ride glades for a bit, or more right (south) and the hill opens up for some decent powder fields straight into the drainage. Those open fields are SE aspect and might actually be steep enough to slide, so be aware.