Finally, Mount Borah Summited!
I have wanted to summit Mt. Borah (Idaho’s Tallest Peak) for that past few years, but alas things had always come up that prevented me from doing so. So, I am very happy to say that I have been to the top of Idaho (elevation 12,668 ft.) and back in one piece. Not only did I get to climb the mountain, but I got to do so with both my father and brother which made the trek all that much more enjoyable. This was a particularly good thing because there were plenty of aspects about the climb that most wouldn’t deem “enjoyable” material.
We started off at about 5:30 am and were able to make it to about 11,000 feet in roughly 3 or so hours, leaving us rather boldly confident that this climb was going to be easier than expected. What we didn’t know is that the 3 hour hike to 11,000 feet up through the tree line and along the ridge directly across from the summit (see picture below) was actually the easiest part of the climb.
As we arrived at the famous “chicken-out ridge” we rapidly realized why it had earned it’s namesake. With a hard to see route and well over a few hundred foot fall should you make an erroneous step it definitely is one of the few times I have ever been that scared before. Adding to the difficulty was the fact that in our bold assault on the easier part of the mountain we were ahead of others so we sort of had to “guess our way” rather than getting to use others as guinea pigs.
After “chicken-out ridge” was the second scariest part of ascent, a short 30-50 foot trek across an snow/ice sheet on the side of the col that connected the ridge we were on to Mt. Borah proper. Any earlier in the season this section would clearly warrant ice-axes and crampons but luckily it was warm enough and late enough in the season that prior groups had made solid foot prints for us to use as our path. Even so, it was still VERY disconcerting walking across a snow and ice slope that could rapidly turn into a few thousand foot ice slide to an untimely end. I have added a picture here to help give an idea of what I am talking about, but the picture doesn’t do the view while on the ice field any justice in my opinion.
Finally, the last bit of the ascent was another thousand or so feet right up the face of the mountain to finally end at 12,668 feet at the peak. Greeted happily by an American flag as well as the Flag of Idaho. Here we enjoyed some tasty sandwiches and relaxed with a short nap. I’ve always said that sleeping is my “Super Power” so I was not about to miss the opportunity to tell the wife that I had slept at the summit of Idaho (not that should we be all that surprised). After taking in the amazing view and our brief rest we took our pictures together at the summit and began our trip back down. Little did we know that the trip down would actually prove to be the hardest and most painful part.
NOTE: On a special personal note, under the same concept of prayer flags. I only saw it fitting that the Dzogchen flag should fly at the summit of Idaho and spread blessings to all beings. With that said, I have also included the picture of myself holding the Dzogchen flag on the summit of Idaho (see picture below). May all sentient beings, human and non-human have happiness and the causes of happiness. Om Mani Padme Hung.
We had fully expected the climb to be tough, but had definitely not expected the descent to be as painful. By the time we were descending it had been 5-6 hours since we had started and spent much of our energy climbing up the mountain. Coming down was just as hard, due to the fact that your feet are getting beat up much more as well as your calves. In total the descent took us right about 5 hours as well, leaving the whole trip up and back at right about 11 hours.
The work was definitely worth it for such an amazing view, but lets just say that it will be a while before we excitedly decide to summit it again. All things considered, it was a fun trip and a very unique way to see the great state of Idaho.
Full Mount Borah Gallery on Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/natemcintyre/MountBorah
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