Find Nearby Peaks

This peak is not in the book. Published November 2018

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Peak 7927 is a seldom-visited mountain that is located above Williams Canyon and the narrow, rugged Right Fork of Williams Canyon. ID-36 sits at the base of the southeast face of Peak 7927 but is not visible from the summit. USGS Midnight Mountain 

South Spur/East Ridge, Class 2

Access

From Emigration Pass (7,424 feet) on ID-36, drive southwest on ID-36 for 2.3 miles to a highway section that cuts away the east ridge of Peak 7927 at the south spur, leaving a sharp cliff band on the highway’s right/northwest side. There is nowhere to park right here but you have two options. First, you can drive another 0.4 miles southwest on ID-36 to a large, paved pullout on the east side of the highway and park. Second, you can park on FSR-1243 (signed), a dirt road on the right/northwest side of the highway located about ¼ mile northeast of the south spur. I chose the latter option to shorten the hike a bit.

The Climb

From the junction of ID-36 and FSR-1243, walk down ID-36 about ¼ mile to reach the rocky base of the south spur of the east ridge. The easiest way to surmount the spur is to approach it from its left/south side. Scramble north up steep but easy open terrain (desert scrub) on the rounded spur. Aspens soon mix in with the desert scrub but the going remains relatively easy. The spur bends left/northwest as you ascend higher. A little higher up, the south spur merges with the east ridge and the ridge crest takes a left/west turn. You will find game trails in the forested sections (pines + aspens) but these areas are fairly limited.

Once you reach the east ridge, the terrain becomes much more problematic. A steeper slope, thick scrub, aspens, and willows combine to make your life miserable, particularly since you’re grinding your way UPHILL. Keep plowing your way west up the rounded ridge, which morphs into more of a face than a ridge. Thankfully, the terrain is mostly in open or semi-open terrain. The ridge bends right/northwest for the final 100+ vertical feet in thick desert scrub. There is no relief until you finally reach the summit high point, which is a combination of ground talus/scree and short scrub.

The summit high point area had nothing on top—no signs of previous ascent. I built a respectable cairn in the open summit area using dinner-plate rock that I found nearby. There is a massive pine tree close by. It could be the high point but I don’t think so. There are no false summits up here. The terrain gradually falls away on all sides.

South Ridge/Southeast Face, Class 3

Access

Same as for the south spur/east ridge

The Descent

If you climb the south spur/east ridge, you cannot help but notice (from ID-36) a magnificent ridge descending to the highway about ¼ mile south of the base of the south spur. Wouldn’t it be fun to descend that instead of simply retracing the south spur/east ridge that you just ascended? Sure it would, so let’s do it.

From the summit of Peak 7927, follow the ridge south to the south summit (Point 7840+). Drop to scrub-clogged saddle on your way to the open, scree/short veg hump that is the south summit. Unfortunately, the south summit, like the true summit, sits back from the face so that you cannot get a good look at the terrain below that awaits you. The USGS topo map shows the southeast face as a cornucopia of gullies and shoulders and, indeed, it is. From the south summit, descend east-southeast on the face through open desert scrub with scattered mountain mahogany to circumvent.

Angle left/east and contour across an aspen-filled gully to reach an obvious shoulder. Descend this shoulder southeast all the way down to the highway. This shoulder has some unexpectedly steep sections of willows, desert scrub, and even some hidden rock bands. These sections are of Class 3 difficulty and are the crux of the descent. You won’t find any game trails or cattle trails in this stuff. As you approach the highway, the drop is so pronounced that you will fear getting cliffed out. A parachute might be a better descent option from here.

But the USGS topo map shows that you won’t get cliffed out and you don’t. However, you must bash your way through aspens and thick scrub. You will be greatly relieved to reach the solid footing of ID-36. You will find some cattle trails near the highway as you complete your descent. Once on ID-36, walk up the highway about ½ mile to your parked vehicle on FSR-1243.