Bald Mountain: West Skirt

Type: Backcountry or Sidecountry

It's windy—like, really windy. The wind howls up from the valley and there could be wind-loading issues. It's not very steep though either.

This trail breaks off to follow the Caribou Creek drainage when the Klondike Mountain Ascent starts heading uphill. There is the old 128 Road bed to follow, but it can be pretty lost under drifts. If you can't find it, the route is generally following the valley between Bald Mountain and Klondike Mountain. That is the drainage of Caribou Creek. It opens up and becomes pretty apparent once your north of Klondike.

Once you've gotten around Klondike and are heading west uphill in the wide drainage, you'll start to see glades and meadows opening up on your left (north). I usually start heading uphill along the trees as the trees start thinning. If you go too far west, it's just steeper to get up, and pretty open-faced, so be aware of conditions. You don't want someone sending something down on you.

If you've followed the edge of the trees up, eventually you'll hit the false summit area where the open glades end, there's usually a drift that really seems like the top. Not a cornice, just a good bump to get over. This is where the switchbacks stop on the mapped route.

You can lap the run from this point back down to the drainage, veering right of your uphill track to get the nice open areas. Or, if the snow is good, continue uphill, as it will go steeper uphill again in a few hundred yards. Keep the drop off into the valley to your left and go as far as you can up Baldy, until where the snow all blows off at tree line. Pick some good drifts to pump and get going back down to the false summit and then down through the glades. If you hold speed, you can make it almost all the way back to the Klondike Mountain Ascent on your way out.