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If you are either in need of a humbling climb, want some snow climbing experience, or are just plain not real smart, Baldy Mountain is the one to climb. We climbed Baldy Mountain in the middle of March when there was still plenty of snow to ski down. But the day we went, the weather was so terrible that we just carried the skis up and then back down. But the trip was a very memorable one, my first snow covered summit and a taste of real winter climbing.

Intro | The Ascent | Getting There | Facts

As the last week or so had been clear, sunny, and in the 60's, we decided to leave Idaho Falls at about 6:30 AM. By the time we got past Swan Valley and to the base of Baldy Mountain it was about 7:45, raining, and very low visibility. We put our telemark boots on, strapped the skis to our packs, and were hiking by about 8:00. The first half mile or so was through mud, rocks and sagebrush. Soon after we crossed some barbed wire fences and were surrounded my more and more patches of old snow. Nearing a small peak covered with trees and snow, we traversed the ridge. On top of this peak we snacked a bit and looked down the 200 feet or so that we had to go back down to continue on the ridge.

We continued along this ridge and came to a small rocky area we had to climb up. I named this the "Peterson Step" after Eric Peterson, who led us up it. About an hour later we arrived at the top of Little Baldy Mountain. We thought this was the top, but because of many trees and how short the trip had been, we decided to make sure if we were really at the top. We dropped our packs and skis off and continued on with all our warm clothes on. Sure enough, after a few minutes it started going up again. James and Eric took turns breaking trail through the varied snow. Soon we were out of the trees and in the wind. The snow went from icy and windblown to soft, but remained very steep the whole way along the corniced ridge. Soon, I saw James and Eric coming down, and then we all trudged to the top.

The top was spectacular. As my first summit on a snow covered peak, I was excited. But the wind, cold, blowing snow and visibility of about 15 feet made it feel like a "real" mountain. I took my American flag out and had Eric take a picture, but realized later that I was out of film. After only a minute or so at the top, we started down, going as fast as we could without sliding out of control. Going down this would have been much safer with an ice axe. It also would have been really fun on skis if the weather had been better. Back at Little Baldy mountain we took shelter in the trees, ate some easy cheese and crackers and called my mother with our 2-meter hand-held radios. As it was getting late we put on our packs and started down. Eventually we reached the rocky area and soon were at the car. We threw all our soaking wet packs in the car and drove back to Idaho Falls.

Looking back it may not have been all fun, but it was a great trip. And I will always remember getting to the top of the peak and more importantly, a memorable trip with my friends.

Intro | The Ascent | Getting There | Facts

Follow the signs for Swan Valley as you go east out of Idaho Falls. After Swan Valley and about 1/2 mile before Palisades Reservoir turn right on the road to Palisades Lakes camp ground. At the end of this dirt road, park and start hiking.

Intro | The Ascent | Getting There | Facts