Goat Mountain 11913

Elevation: 11,913 ft
Prominence: 814

Find Nearby Peaks

Climbing and access information for this peak is on Pages 245-246 of the book. Use this link to Pat McGrane’s Wildhorse Classics Guide for information on the technical routes on this peak. 


This twin-summitted peak is found on the main Pioneer Mountain Crest and is most often climbed from the west. Farther down this page, you will find Ray Brooks’ description of a 1971 ascent from the Wildhorse drainage to Florians Nudl and then to the summit of Goat Mountain. USGS Phi Kappa Mountain

Goat Mountain from Hyndman Peak.

Goat Mountain as viewed from Hyndman Peak.


 

Goat Mountain from Hyndman Peak.

Goat Mountain as viewed from Hyndman Peak.

Goat Peak from Wildhorse Canyon by Ray Brooks

I have dug out my old journals and found my memories of climbing Goat Peak in 1971. On July 6, 1971, Harry Bowron, Art Troutner and I hiked up the right fork of Wildhorse Canyon for about 3 miles and camped at a large meadow that was still mostly covered with snow from a large avalanche. We had the brand-new USGS topo of the area and some knowledge of the mountains from a Decker Flat Climbing & Frisbee Club 4th of July party and outing to the same area a year earlier.

Our first full day, we followed a valley up to Airplane Lake, which was still frozen solid, and then worked up towards a prominent peak northeast of the lake. For convenience, we named it Airplane Peak. After much snow-climbing, we reached a small headwall with a good crack system and climbed it without roping up.

Once we were on top of Airplane Peak (i.e., Florians Nudl), we could see our goal: twin summits with a broad ridge between them and Airplane Peak. We did not encounter any difficulties worth noting in reaching the southern summit, where we saw a broken wine bottle, but no summit cairn. Upon arrival at the slightly higher northern summit, we found no signs of man, so with unusual audacity we built a cairn and left a summit register proclaiming a first ascent of Kane Peak, under the auspices of the Decker Flat Climbing & Frisbee Club.

We had a great view of the Ketchum/Sun Valley area and could unfortunately hear the snarling of engines as the Porsche Club of America held a racing event at Sun Valley. Somewhat awed by the ability of civilization to annoy us in such a remote place, we retreated to the southern summit and then found a well hidden cairn & summit register that identified our mountain as Goat Peak. I entered the brazen advice that the further summit was the higher one & that the dozens of signers were mistaken in their choice. A note from the present: After a lifetime of being a good-person, I still marvel at that little piece of summit register cockiness.

Both Arrowhead Lake & Airplane Lake have been stocked with trout within the last five years. Our hike up to Arrowhead went from a large meadow on the Right Fork of Wildhorse Creek, up a prominent avalanche path and cross-country to the lake. I think most hikers just follow the creek up to it. There is no trail after the large meadow.

Additional Resources

Mountain Range: Pioneer Mountains

Year Climbed: 1988

Longitude: -114.142059   Latitude: 43.774184

Photos:

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