Sheephead Peak

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Elevation: 11,276 ft
Prominence: 456

Find Nearby Peaks

Climbing and access information for this peak is on Page 287 of the book.

Sheephead Peak is located northwest of Invisible Mountain. It is one of the least-climbed Idaho 11ers. Nevertheless, it is an impressive peak and is well worth consideration. USGS Mackay

Access

Unless you decide to climb the peak from Invisible Mountain, access the peak from Swauger Gulch. The road up Swauger Gulch is accessed from the Lower Cedar Creek Road [(B)(13) on Page 293]. John Platt provided the following access update:

Access is straightforward. Follow roads shown on the map, although the satellite showed that the two roads approaching the trailhead actually connect, and we did that to do a loop. I’m not sure which side of the canyon was better or worse. A high-clearance vehicle with good tires is a must, but 4WD is not necessary.

Sheephead Mountain viewed from the Sheephead/Invisible saddle. John Platt Photo

Sheephead Peak as viewed from the Sheephead/Invisible saddle. John Platt Photo

Swauger Gulch Route, Class 2

Rick Baugher climbed the peak from the via Swauger Canyon in Big Lost River Valley starting at 6,900 feet. He hiked up the canyon to the ridge crest at 10,700 feet. From the crest, he scrambled northwest to the summit. Use the link below to read Rick’s trip report. John Platt, John Fadgen and Michael Pelton climbed the peak in April 2018 via Swauger Canyon and also traversed over to Invisible Mountain. John’s trip report is linked below. John Platt provided the following commentary:

Start up a ~400-foot headwall. We took the right side for better footing, and that led us into a mahogany morass. We descended the looker’s left, but it is so loose (good descending) that it might be horrible to climb. When you get to the meadow (old lake bed), there is an old campsite on the left side. This site led us to a semi-cleared path through the Disenchanted Forest, which included 2 or 3 cairns. Above that, it opens up with the preferred route on lookers left.  From here, the terrain was all snow. On the descent, we followed the outlet of the old lake, which leads you to the loose-talus descent route described above.
John Platt’s GPS track. His route covered 7.9 miles with 5,232 feet of gain.

John Platt’s GPS track. His route covered 7.9 miles with 5,232 feet of elevation gain.

Sheephead/Invisible Traverse, Class 2

George Reinier, Johnny Roache, and Pat McGrane traversed to this peak from Invisible Mountain. Check out this link for Pat’s trip report and a few photos. John Platt and John Fadgen also made this traverse in April 2018 and reported it as a straightforward ridge walk.

Additional Resources

Regions: EASTERN IDAHO->Lost River Range

Mountain Range: Lost River Range

Longitude: -113.53049   Latitude: 43.97569

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