Mount Baldy (12,805) by Brian Schultz Tuesday July 21, 2020

Roundtrip mileage: 3.45 miles from Paradise Divide
Elevation gain: 1,845'
Start to finish: 4 hours 30 minutes
Participants: Tim Briese, Brian Schultz

It's always enjoyable to return to this scenic area and it's easy to get to from Crested Butte on roads that are steep but manageable. This time we drove up the Washington Gulch road (CR 811) to Paradise Divide and parked in a small area near a campsite. We began at 8:00 AM thinking the climb would be an easy hike up to the curving ridge.

The lower grassy slopes were easy but the scree areas above were steep and loose, and not much fun. The views were great as we got higher, and we found hit and miss trails until reaching the high ridge where the fun really started.

Once on the ridge, we followed the ridge bumps and had a trail (photo 1, photo 2) to follow for the most part. There is some exposure (minimal) but the ridge traveled well, and the only sketchy section was a drop down off the last ridge bump. It was steep and a bit rough but the holds were solid and from there it was just a short climb to the true summit. We arrived at 10:25.

The views (photo 1, photo 2) from the top were excellent and we stayed for 35 minutes. We weren't on top very long before spotting three young women running the ridge and making quick order of descending the last ridge bump. They were friendly and chatty and told us they live and work in Gunnison and climb mountains on their days off. They would be climbing Cinnamon Mountain after returning to Paradise Divide.

On our descent we were soon passed by the three women, and we in turn passed by a couple and their dog on their way up. The remaining descent of the high ridge went quickly. Instead of returning the exact way we came up the slopes, we decided to veer toward the grassy areas and this worked out well.

The grass was much easier on the feet and the wildflowers had us stopping several times to take pictures. We arrived back to our trucks at 12:30. This was a nice short climb and the weather was beautiful today.