The pack (Helen, Torrey and I) left Denver under a full moon before 6am to beat the ski traffic up to Summit county. The forecast was for a beautiful and sunny day while the avalanche conditions were rated moderate. Around 8am we were skinning up from the trailhead on Mt Baldy road and trying to warm up in the single digit temperatures.
Once we hit the mill site at 11,250 feet, we headed straight up the well established track to around 12,160 feet, just below the main ridge and all the antennas. Helen and Torrey proceeded to ski a few laps from here to the mill and back. I headed up to the ridge crest and cached my skis.
Above this point the ridge was very wind blown, with plenty of bare rock and only a few places to posthole. In summer this would be a nice class 2 hike. In ski boots with snow and a 20+ mph wind, “nice” wouldn’t be the first adjective to come to mind. Still, the views were outstanding in all directions without a cloud in the sky.
A little below the summit I found a safe place to duck out of the wind on the east side of the ridge and warm up in the sun. Then I pushed quickly for the summit and snapped a few photos before returning to the sheltered spot. I’d reached the summit at 11:25a and hadn’t communicated a good plan with Helen for how we’d meet up again or how long I’d be gone for. So I didn’t stop for a longer break but hurried back to my skis.
I found Helen and Torrey enjoying the sun and out of the wind at the mill. My thighs were exhausted from the climbing and I just collapsed when I arrived. After skiing back down to the car we headed into Breckenridge and had lunch at the Columbine Cafe. We were keeping with the restaurant name theme after eating at Evergreen’s Wildflower Cafe the day before. From town we could look up at Bald Mountain’s 13,684 foot summit.
