Santa Fe Baldy is a prominent

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

in the

Sangre de Cristo Mountains ) , country= United States , subdivision1_type= States , subdivision1= , parent= Rocky Mountains , geology= , orogeny= , area_mi2= 17193 , range_coordinates= , length_mi= 242 , length_orientation= north-south , width_mi= 120 , w ...

of New Mexico, United States, located 15 mi (24 km) northeast of Santa Fe. There are no higher mountains in New Mexico south of Santa Fe Baldy. It is prominent as seen from Los Alamos and communities along the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

in northern New Mexico, but is relatively inconspicuous from Santa Fe, as its north-south trending main ridge line is seen nearly end-on, disguising the size of the mountain. Tree line in the Sangre de Cristos is unusually high (exceeding in places) and only the top of the mountain is perpetually free of trees, but several severe

forest fire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

s have created bare spots extending to lower elevations. An extensive region of aspen trees on its flanks produces spectacular orange-yellow coloration during the fall that is the subject of many photographic studies. Santa Fe Baldy rises in the Pecos Wilderness within the

Santa Fe National Forest The Santa Fe National Forest is a protected United States National Forest, national forest in northern New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. It was established in 1915 and covers . Elevations range from 5,300 feet (1600 m) to 13,103 ...

, on the

water divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a singl ...

between the

and the

Pecos River The Pecos River ( es, Río Pecos) originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, New Mexico ...

. The western slopes are drained by the Rio Capulin and the Rio Nambe, both flowing to the Rio Grande. The eastern side of the mountain consists of two small

cirque A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform ...

s, one containing ''Lake Katherine'', one of the highest lakes in New Mexico at elevation . Contrary to popular belief, Lake Katherine was not given its name by theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, in reference to his wife Katherine "Kitty" Oppenheimer. This naming convention predates their meeting by at least a decade, and the lake is instead named after Katherine Chaves Page Kavanaugh, owner of the Los Pinos Guest Ranch on the Pecos River. The attribution of the name to J. Robert Oppenheimer may be influenced by his known connection to Katherine Chaves Page Kavanaugh, as he was a frequent guest at the Ranch. The peak is accessed by Trail 251, the Skyline Trail, which climbs to a saddle about below the summit; the remaining distance is covered by a steep unofficial trail along the ridgeline. Under good conditions the summit is a simple "walk-up" climb, but the Sangre de Cristos are unusually prone to lightning, and during the summer months, the wise hiker is off Santa Fe Baldy and other high summits in the range by noon, to avoid afternoon thunderstorms. Nearby peaks include ''Lake Peak'', and ''Tesuque Peak'', , both located about to the south of Santa Fe Baldy. Santa Fe Ski Basin is on the western slopes of Tesuque Peak. On 11 June 2009, Santa Fe Baldy was the scene of a helicopter accident that claimed the lives of New Mexico State Police Sergeant Andrew Tingwall and University of New Mexico graduate student Megumi Yamamoto. The helicopter crashed after Tingwall rescued Yamamoto. Yamamoto had been hiking with her boyfriend, but had become lost.

Gallery

File:Santa Fe Baldy, 2010.jpg, With fresh snow, January 2010 File:Pecos Baldy Santa Fe Baldy.jpg, From

Truchas Peak Truchas Peak (more precisely, South Truchas Peak) is the second highest peak in the U.S. State of New Mexico behind Wheeler Peak. It is in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains northeast of Santa Fe. It lies within the Pecos Wilderness, part of the S ...

, with Pecos Baldy in the foreground File:Looking down on Lake Katherine from near the peak of Sante Fe Baldy Mountain.jpg, Looking down on Lake Katherine from near the peak of Santa Fe Baldy File:Looking north-northeast from the switch-backed section of the trail to Lake Katherine towards the Sante Fe Baldy summit.jpg, Looking north-northeast from the switch-backed section of the trail to Lake Katherine summit

References

External links

* * {{Mountains of New Mexico Mountains of New Mexico Sangre de Cristo Mountains

Baldy Baldy refers to a person with hair loss. Baldy may also refer to: People *Baldy (nickname) *Pen name of Clifford H. Baldowski (1917–1999), American editorial cartoonist * Daniel Baldy (born 1994), German politician * Leonard Baldy (1927-1960), ...

Santa Fe National Forest Mountains of Santa Fe County, New Mexico