East Peak of Red: White Diamond

On April 21, 2019, Henry Gibb, Kim Clark, and I were hoping to ski the slide path that starts at the SE end of the SE ridge of East Red and descends to the Red Buffalo valley. But as we approached it we saw that it had slid to the ground. We decided that our best option for the day was to climb it anyway, so as to visit the beautiful high terrain efficiently. We did so (booting on grass, dirt, and hard snow) and continued on the ridge to the summit of East Red (12945 feet). After a rest we descended the ridge a bit and then dropped into a fine looking line that drops into the bowl south of the summit (Red Diamond Bowl). From here to the valley is a 2500-foot run. We had great visibility at the top, but it disappeared suddenly as a snow squall moved in. This was a long day: 4200 feet of climb, 10.5 miles, just under 9 hours.

Booting up the slide path:

 
Getting close to the top of the slide; the crown is visible at upper left.

Along the ridge to East Red Summit (upper left):

 
Kim descending. The ridge line in rear is the best way to ascent to Red’s true summit.

 
We returned past the destruction of the slide.

Below is a view from the summit of Deming on March 24, 2021. The White Diamond is the broad slope right of center.

This view from Eccles Peak shows the White Diamond well (3/31/2021); the broad slope at right.