First Ascent: Bob Boyles, Mike Weber and Curtis Olsen Rating: Grade III, 5.8, A2 Description Provided by Curtis Olson, Mountain Guides Inc., Boise, Idaho (as published in the American Alpine Journal, Idaho, 1983) Mount Breitenbach, North Face, Lost River Range From July 13 to 16, Bob Boyles, Mike Weber and I made the first ascent of the North Face of Mount Breitenbach. Bill … Continue reading
Editor’s Note: Carl Hamke and Judi Steciak recently became the third and fourth climbers to summit all of Idaho’s peaks exceeding 11,000 feet. George Reinier and Johnny Roache were the first climbers to summit all of these peaks, while Judi is the first woman to accomplish this exceedingly difficult task. The short article below summarizes their quest and lists the … Continue reading
Idaho has nine summits that reach over 12,000 feet and all but two lie within the Lost River Range in central Idaho. Idaho’s tallest and most visited peak, Mt Borah (12,662’), is located in the central section of the range. As the state highpoint, it is also very popular. During the summer months, it is not unusual to see a … Continue reading
Arval Anderson, a civil engineer, was an early USFS Surveyor who was stationed in the Boise Mountains and Sawtooth Range in 1927. He is responsible for naming Tohobit, Reward and Bugle peaks among others. This entry covers a bit of Arval’s history which is quintessential Sawtooth History. There are three entries below: (1) a portion of a 1983 USFS interview, (2)”What … Continue reading
Ray Brooks Bio It was love at first sight with me and Idaho’s Sawtooth Range. Rotten rock, mosquito bogs and the annual July plague of biting flies: all failed to dampen my ardor. In 1971, I discovered Elephants Perch. It is a massive dome of beautiful pink granite (Leucocratic quartz monzonite). Its very clean and solid 1,200-foot high West Face … Continue reading
For more on fire lookouts see the following articles: Boise National Forest Fire Lookouts and An Overview of the Lookouts on the Salmon National Forest By the 1930s, the Forest Service had a goal to “put a firewatch on every mountaintop.” Idaho ended up with 989 fire lookout structures, more than any other state in the Pacific Northwest. Of Southern Idaho’s … Continue reading