Pfeifferhorn

Too often lately I have talked myself into attempting double summit activations. On the map, summits look so close together. Since I’m out there, “why not tackle a neighboring summit?” I think I earned all twenty points when I recently activated Pfeifferhon and White Baldy on the same day. These are two spectacular ten-point summits, over 11,000 feet, east of Sandy, Utah.

Getting There

The Red Pine trailhead (TH) to this hike is located just west of Snowbird Ski Resort on Hwy 210.

TH parking lot is located at:

40° 34’ 31.8” N

111° 40’ 52.1” W

Pfeifferhorn summit data

White Baldy summit data

The Hike

I arrived to a third-full parking lot at 5:45 am and was on the trail with my headlamp on by 6 am. The first mile was a easy incline. Approaching a creek the trail splits. One direction to White Pine Lake, the other to Red Pine Lake. Either way can get you to White Baldy, but I followed the Red Pine trail as Pfeifferhorn was my primary objective of the day. It had not yet been activated for the Summits On The Air (SOTA) program. From this fork it was another 1.6 miles to another junction, just stay on the main path leading south for another 0.6 miles and you will arrive at the

Red Pine lake and Pfeiffhorn’s false summit.

beautiful Red Pine lake. I arrived there just as the sun was beginning to light the tops of the mountains. The lake was nearly flat and made for a great reflecting pool to this amazing scenery.

Stay left (east) around the lake towards the stream feeding the lake. From here the trail becomes less trekked but is still easy to follow up a ridge to get above the treeline. Once on the upper ridge Pfeifferhorn comes into view, about 0.5 miles west. Just before reaching the final climb you have to navigate a narrow spine, offering some technical (i.e.: be careful) scrambling to get over to the other side. This is not for the faint of heart as there are a few spots with significant drops. Know your limits and use extreme caution.

Looking north from Pfeifferhorn.

Once on the other side, the final approach (~300’ up) is steep and has some loose rocks. It is a strenuous push but not overly difficult if you take your time to ensure proper footing. I made it to the summit around 9:30 am, quickly deployed my three-band linked dipole antenna and set up my radio. You can expect to not be alone on the summit as this is a popular destination, especially on the weekends. I had to stop my radio pile-up at least three times to answer questions about what I was doing and even help with group photos. After about an hour I knew I needed to get moving if I was going to bag a second summit.

Looking east toward White Baldy.

Back down below to the point the trail drops down the ridge I looked east to White Baldy and I had to make a choice. Home or another summit? My legs felt good. I was still on pace to be on Baldy by 12:30 pm. Onward to White Baldy.

To get from White Baldy from Pfeifferhorn the quickest route is to follow the saddle east for about a mile. To me it resembled a dragon’s spiny back with undulations and tall outcrops. Again, this path is not for inexperienced hikers. Always double check boulders to ensure the are not loose. There are several perilous points along this route. A few times I stopped to take breaks and I was amazed at how strikingly quiet it was. I could

Looking west toward Pfeifferhorn, ascending White Baldy.

plainly hear other hikers, a mile away, talking from across the bowl from me. Up on top, more careful steps, as several places had significant drops between large fractured rocks.

At the summit I met another hiker who was writing in the summit cache logbook. He had traveled via the White Pine trail and approached from the east. I gave some tips for navigating towards the Horn and he set off down the way I had come up. With the summit to myself I again set up my antenna. There is not much room for a dipole so I ended up running it down the northern ridge and set up my radio down the slope about twenty-five feet below the summit.

Looking NW from White Baldy, antenna deployed.

Before I got on the air I knew I had to eat something so I broke open a MRE I had packed. Not the greatest meal but my body appreciated the calories. After an hour the calls tapered off and I knew I had about a five mile hike back to my car. I had two possible routes back; east where the other hiker had come up, or north to the unknown. I went north and down the slope and into a an increasingly larger and larger boulder field. Ever closer to the upper Red Pine lake it seemed to take forever to reach it but when I did I was in awe.

Upper Red Pine lake.

The water was so clear I could see several rainbow trout swimming by. I filled my hat with its water and dumped it over my head. It felt amazingly refreshing. I could have kicked my boots off, layed down and taken and nap it was so peaceful without a soul in sight. Reluctantly I kept going and before long I was back on the main trail by the lower lake and made haste towards home. I arrived back at the TH by 4:45 pm. It was one long day on the trail but well worth the adventure.

Gear (summer):

Trekking Poles

A light jacket

Sunglasses / Sunblock

Sturdy hiking boots and good socks (2 pair)

I packed 3 liters of water and drank it all (just enough)

Radio Gear:

HF: Elecraft KX-3

Antenna: SOTAbeams, Linked dipole (40, 30, 20 meters)

HT: Kenwood DH-72 (for APRS)

Trail:

Great condition on Red Pine trail. Loose rocks and dangerous drop offs in several places along the route above 10,000’.

Difficulty:

Hard. 10 miles roundtrip (approximately 12 if you do the loop to include White Baldy).

73 and safe hiking!

KH7AL

My route.