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Borah Peak, Idaho 12662 ft, 3860 m

Borah Peak is the highest Peak in Idaho but certainly not the hardest to climb. I would rate it a moderate scramble, having about 5300 feet elevation gain, much of it gained on merely a steep trail. When we have a wet, crappy summer in our Canadian Rockies and big peaks like Robson are out of condition, I sometimes head south for a respite. In early August 1999, to escape the rain, we drove first to try Granite Peak in Montana, then to The Lost River Range near MacKay in southeast Idaho to bag this American Highpoint. It was nice to see the sun again while we were there.

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  Borah's summit is at top right. We started from our vehicle at the trailhead by headlamp at 4 a.m. so we could be on top and back down before the notorious afternoon thunderstorms rolled in. The air was thick with fire smoke that morning, temperature was 10 degrees Celsius at 6 a.m. That's about 52 F for Americans, just perfect for doing peaks.

Along "Chicken-out Ridge" where some people apparently (Those afraid of heights, I guess) turn back. We didn't realize we were on it at the time. It isn't really much to worry about if you have some experience. It seems there are a lot of people into ascending America's Highpoints, but not that many have any sort of climbing background at all. Strange, eh?

   This part of Chicken-out Ridge is one of the more interesting bits along the route. Here a party is roped together so nobody can chicken out. The weather is still fine at this point, as we make our way back down and they slowly continue up.  

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© Almost all photos copyright by the author 1999.