No Name Baldy Chutes

Fast Facts:

• Start Elevation: 7,672

• Peak Elevation: 10,873

• Vertical: 3,542 (see Strava)

• Distance: 8.63 miles

• Elapsed Time: 4:50

• Date: Mar 23, 2025

Strava Route

I’ve summited Pfeifferhorn via Red Pine Fork, but I’ve never hiked or skied in Maybird Gulch. This drainage sees little traffic since access requires parking at the White Pine lot and traversing across both White Pine Fork and Red Pine Fork. With a long ascent ahead to the ridge between No Name Baldy and Pfeifferhorn, we had our headlamps on and were skinning by 6:15 AM.

Headlamps On

At around the one-mile mark, you'll reach a junction—left leads up White Pine Fork, but you’ll want to go right toward Red Pine Fork. For the next 1.4 miles, the skin track follows the eastern side of Red Pine Fork. Around 8,900 feet, it begins to trend west, crossing Red Pine and heading toward the Red Pine Trees run. This section is relatively sheltered from the wind and has a moderate but steady incline.

At about 9,400 and 2.8 miles, you emerge from Red Pine Trees and you get a nice view of Hogum Hogback which has some really nice ski lines on it.

At this point, you will be northwest of the side of the Maybird Gulch and Red Pine divide which is a ridge that starts at around 9,800. You will want to stay to the west of this ridge. As you continue to climb, the back of the drainage will emerge and you will soon get eyes on Pfeifferhorn and No Name Baldy.

Pfeifferhorn View

You will come upon a meadow and if you traversed westward, it would lead you to Small Pass which provides access to Hogum Fork. Two members of our group opted for this route, while the rest of us continued toward the ridge between No Name Baldy and Pfeifferhorn. Along this ridge, there are three distinct chutes; the first two from the east had overhanging cornices, so we chose to ski the third chute.

No Name Baldy Chute 3

As we approached, we spotted three other skiers drop into this chute and the most likely accessed the chute by having ascended via Red Pine Fork and crossing over behind No Name Baldy. Their route avoided the need to boot up a steep 40-degree pitch, making it a potentially safer and more efficient route than the one took. As we traversed the meadow, the increasing wind signaled that the chute wouldn’t be holding much soft snow. We managed to skin almost to the mouth of the chute before transitioning to bootpacking.

Skin approach to the chute

The high winds had left the snow surface firm, but the moment we started booting, we sank to our knees. Fortunately, my buddy brought his verts, allowing him to move efficiently up the lower section of the chute, making it slightly easier for the rest of us to follow. About halfway up, the snowpack firmed up considerably—initially a relief, but soon presenting its own challenges. Each step required forceful kicking to create a secure foothold, as a fall on this steep, hard surface would mean an uncontrolled 200-300 foot slide.

As we climbed higher, the wind intensified. By the time we reached the ridge, gusts were easily exceeding 40 mph, whipping snow into our faces with painful force. The only priority was to get off the ridge as quickly and safely as possible. With rocky terrain at the top, we had to put our skis on just below the ridge, at the entrance to the chute. The first few turns were steep on firm snow, demanding full focus. But as we descended out of the main chute, the winds diminished and the skiing became more manageable. While conditions weren’t ideal, the reward was in reaching the top and skiing from the ridge.

After exiting the chute, we stayed to the right to maintain elevation and avoid transitioning. From there, we more or less paralleled our skin track on the way down. The descent through the Red Pine Trees rewarded us with creamy, playful turns—a fun and well-earned finish to the tour.