This page contains a condensed version of Larry’s trip report. Check out the full version at this link: Larry Prescott Big Boy Trip Report.
October 31, 2015
Team: James A. and James H.
Route: East Ridge
Class 3
Total Elevation Gain 5,833 feet
Total Miles: 12.58
Access
Access the peak by taking Pass Creek Road turnoff just south of Lone Pine on ID-. The road is marked by a small “Pass Creek” sign. Pass Creek Road is usually in good shape and ends at a small camping area. Pass Creek Trail begins here and heads south giving access to the many canyons leading to the Lemhi Crest. The GPS track below indicates in red the driving route on Pass Creek Road from the highway to the camping area. The green and yellow mark the climbing route we took.
Larry Prescott’s GPS track.
Considering Our Line Up Big Boy
Initially, we thought that we would climb the Southeast Face shown in the above photo. We would ascend up the snow-filled gully and through the notch in the cliff band and then traverse east through snow to the ridge above. After dropping down to the valley floor, we thought better. There was just enough snow to make the rocks extremely slippery. We decided that we would avoid a precarious traverse across a steep slippery slope ending in cliffs. Instead, James A. proposed that we head due north to reach the main East Ridge. Once on the ridge, we could follow it to the summit. This East Ridge was Diamondesque and promised some fun climbing.
The Upper East Ridge of Big Boy Peak. Larry Prescott Photo
We climbed to the right of the rocks on the extreme right of this photo.
The ridge was steady Class 3 climbing. There were plenty of ledges to traverse to find routes with lots of good footholds and handholds. We were super glad to have taken this route. It provided the needed variety to make the climb interesting and was just a bit challenging.
James A. traversing a ledge to find the next line.
Great fun.
On the summit of Big Boy Peak.
The Descent
During an August climb of The Riddler, I had studied the north approaches to Big Boy Peak and I knew that we could drop off the summit into the canyon to the north. However, the slope was snowy and icy. After a slow, careful descent and a couple of butt slides, we came to a gully of snow that was deep enough to dig a good heel into. Amazing how much such a find becomes so welcomed. It was then an easy stair step to the bottom.
Dropping down the North Slopes of Big Boy Peak.