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| Bald Mountain A (North Ridge) |
Bald Mountain A (13,684)
Date Climbed: 4/25/12
Route: North Ridge Difficulty: Class 2
Trailhead: Baldy Road (520) (small parking area 0.7 miles up road from main trailhead)
Starting Elevation: 10,800'
Start: 7:05am Summit: 9:25am Start Down: 9:45am End: 11:18am
Elevation Gain: 3300'
Round Trip: 6 miles (approx.)
Trailhead
Drive to the south end of Breckenridge and turn east onto Boreas Pass Road (520). Drive 2.0 miles up Boreas Pass Road and turn left on Baldy Road (520). Come to the end of the paved portion of the road at 3.3 miles. Emmet Lode (536) turns left. This is the main/winter trailhead and there is limited parking here. I drove an additional 0.7 miles up 520, which continues straight (east) from the winter trailhead, to a small parking area at 10800' near a junction between 520 and another road (sorry, didn't write the road number down). There was some hard-packed snow/ice on the road up to the point where I parked, but it was navigable be any vehicle with decent clearance. About ¼ mile further up the road the snow was much deeper and would have become problematic, especially if the temperatures warmed enough to get soft enough to sink in. It will probably be late May before the road is melted out enough to drive all the way to the radio towers (not than anyone concerned with getting 3000' would want to do so).
Route Details
Follow the dirt road generally east as you gently climb to the Iowa Mill at 11,234'. You have a couple options at this point. You can either turn left at the Iowa Mill and continue up the road as it switchbacks up the hill toward the North Ridge, or you can head directly uphill to the southeast, basically making a beeline for the radio towers at 12,580'. The former option is longer but more gradual - I followed the road for a good portion of the ascent and it makes for a nice gentle way to start the morning. On the way down I took the VFR direct approach and probably shaved close to a mile off the standard route along the road.
Regardless of the option you choose, you'll end up at the radio towers on the North Ridge. From the towers, continue south up the road until it narrows and turns into a trail near 12,900'. The remainder of the hike follows a gently undulating ridge to the southeast, crossing several bumps en route to the summit, which can be seen from the radio towers. The trail is easy to follow and is well cairned. Most of the route is Class 1 - there are just a couple of short Class 2 sections between 13,300' and the summit.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
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