[TR] Borah Peak - Southwest - "Chicken Out"- Ridge 06/29/2024

[JasonG]

Trip: Borah Peak - Southwest - "Chicken Out"- Ridge

Trip Date: 06/29/2024

Trip Report:

 

This past summer I went on a month long, 4300+ mile, road trip with the family all over the West.  Mostly we were seeing National Parks that my wife and kids had never been to, but I managed to plan 3 state high points into the itinerary.  Borah Peak (12,662') was the first up, coming after a tour through Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. As with all the state high points, Borah has an abundance of beta online so I'll spare you all the nerdy details and mostly share impressions and photos. 

 

First, I thought this was a peak worth doing.  There is fantastic camping close by at the Joe Fallini Campground, which is cheap and right on a lake with decent swimming and fishing.

This campground is about a 30m drive to the trailhead (if you don't blast past it like we did), which puts you in easy striking distance for an alpine start.  The views start quickly and expand. 

There aren't a lot of trees in the Lost River Range and it was fun to see an entirely different range where I basically knew none of the summits.  Soon we were up above treeline and the aptly named "Chicken Out" ridge came into view:

As did Mt. Morrison:

At the base of the knife edge portion of the ridge, my wife and youngest opted to turn back but surprisingly my oldest stuck right on my tail.  I had a quick chat with him to make sure he understood that while it wasn't overly difficult (exposed 3rd/4th class), a fall would likely be very, very bad.  He said he was fine and was moving calmly and confidently, and so we continued upward.

Where the knife edge ends, there was a small snow saddle to cross.  Again, not hard, but with a terrible and steep runout.  Again, another chat.  This time I insisted in tying on a 30m length of 6mm cord I had brought so as to keep my son from a very long ride should he slip out of the steps and not arrest.  Of course, he was fine, but I felt better with the added security.

And then the real slogging began.  We were over 11k with the summit in sight, and surprisingly all by ourselves.  My son began to slow way down in the thin air.  It was by far the highest he had ever been but appeared to be in good spirits and so we just kept chugging upwards.

And then, we made it, finding one other dude up there taking a nap.  I think we may have surprised him.

We hung around in excellent weather for at least an hour, reading the register, taking in the views, and generally enjoying a perfect day on a high peak.  It doesn't get much better!  But, of course, all good things must end and so we turned around to begin the 5k+ of downward staggering.  Here's a view back at the summit after we had dropped about 1500':

And then to reverse Chicken Out Ridge.... of which I was a bit nervous for my son, but he of course thought that it was all just a great adventure:

Looking back at the upper mountain from just above treeline:

We finished the day back at Joe Fallini Campground, treated to a beautiful sunset as the cattle lowed in the distance.  The next day we would begin the trek SE to King's Peak in Utah for a 4th of July Ascent (in the next installment!)...

 

Gear Notes:
Poles, helmet (optional), crampons/axe if snowy

Approach Notes:
The trailhead is located north of Mackay, Idaho along US-93. Look for the signed turn between Mile Markers 129 and 130. Drive to the end of the road where there is camping and an outhouse. It is a bit grungy there, however, and much preferred BLM's Joe Fallini Campground close by.

[olyclimber]

You’re teaching the youth to feed his rat!  Great photos as always. Thank you Jason.

[kmfoerster]

Awesome, the apple really doesn't fall too far from the tree.

[Lostbolt]

Great Report it gave my middle son some much needed stoke.