Find Nearby Peaks

Climbing and access information for this peak is on Pages 263-264 of the book. Based on LiDAR data, Redbird Mountain has replaced Shelly Mountain as the highest point in the White Knob Mountains with a recalculated elevation of 11,290 feet. Maps still show the elevation at 11,273 feet. Livingston Douglas revised this page. Updated November 2023

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Redbird Mountain is the highest point in the White Knob Mountains, which is home to five of Idaho’s 11ers. It can be climbed from either Burma Road (to its west) or Alder Creek Road (to its east). Redbird Mountain is often climbed in combination with other 11ers on the White Knob Crest. USGS Shelly Mountain

Access

Same as for Cabin Mountain. This is the third leg in a 4-peak adventure that includes Cabin Mountain (11,244 feet), Lime Mountain (11,179 feet), Redbird Mountain, and Shelly Mountain (11,278 feet). It covers 16.5 miles with 5,150 feet of elevation gain round trip. The Cabin Mountain access information is as follows.

From its junction with FSR-138/Copper Basin Loop Road, drive east then north on FSR-142/Burma Road for 0.4 miles. You will cross both the East Fork Big Lost River and Cabin Creek on the way. Continue to a junction with an unmarked 2-track jeep road that follows the north side of Cabin Creek. Park at this junction (7,740 feet) since the 2-track road is very rough and is not drivable.

Please note that the shorter route to Redbird Mountain is via its east side from Alder Creek Road (see Page 264 of the book). From Alder Creek Road, you can either climb the narrow, rugged east ridge (Class 2-3) or the east gully then south ridge (Class 2). If the gully bushwhack is tolerable, I would prefer the latter route as it is the most direct route to the summit and presents no ridge difficulties.

Northwest Ridge, Class 2

The Climb

From the 10,700-foot connecting saddle with Lime Mountain, scramble southeast up the narrow ridge. Work around a series of easy ridge outcrops using goat trails to approach Point 11249. Skirt the right/west side of Point 11249 to reach a high ridge saddle at 11,180 feet. Continue south up the ridge crest for a short distance to the cairned summit of Redbird Mountain. The summit had a decent cairn but it needed some help. I enlarged it significantly for the benefit of future climbers. The northwest ridge is a mix of short scrub, broken rock, and minor rocky outcrops. It presents no problems.

South Ridge, Class 2

The Descent

From the summit, descend the easy, open south ridge on broken rock to reach the narrow, elongated connecting saddle with Shelly Mountain. This saddle is at 10,620 feet. This concludes the third leg of today’s 4-peak journey. Shelly Mountain (11,278 feet) is up next.