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Ascent of Borah Peak on 2012-08-11

Climber: Richard Hensley

Other People:

Solo Ascent

Date:

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Ascent Type:

Successful Summit Attained

Motorized Transport to Trailhead:

Car

Peak:

Borah Peak

Location:

USA-Idaho

Elevation:

12662 ft / 3859 m

Ascent Trip Report

Not going to write much about this well-reported peak, except to make a couple points I didn't read about elsewhere.
Chicken-Out-Ridge: Yes, there is an exposed 20-ft downclimb at the eastern end. However, it's only necessary when there is snow/ice filling the adjacent couloir along its top couple hundred feet on the northwestern side. Today, the snow/ice had melted to within 90ft of the ridge top, and there is an obvious trail on north side of the ridge to this point. It does require about a 30ft upclimb on very loose scree, but there's no exposure here. (There still is some exposure starting the ridge on its western end, but it isn't vertical rockclimbing). So if you don't like to go vertical on the rocks, wait until August and you can go around the 20-ft notch.
3.5 mile length: This route is definitely a full 4 miles one way. While 1300 feet per mile is still one of the steepest mountains I've climbed, it's not as steep as advertised.
Idaho state flag: The Idaho state highpoint should have its state flag flying at the top. But only has about 1/4th of the present one is still there. Some proud Idahoan needs to replace it with a new one.

Summary Total Data

Elevation Gain:

5547 ft / 1689 m

Extra Gain:

154 ft / 46 m

Distance:

8 mi / 12.9 km

Route:

Borah Peak Trail

Trailhead:

Birch Springs Campground 7423 ft / 2262 m

Route Conditions: