Duane Monte was a soil scientist with the US Forest Service for 25 years. He served at Lost Rivers Ranger District, Mackay ID; Palisades RD on Targhee National Forest; and Deschutes NF Bend OR. Recreationally he was a rock climber for 18 years and did many first ascents on ice in the Idaho wilderness. He enjoyed kayaking. fishing, and yearly … Continue reading
Thomas M. Bannon was also a self-taught mountaineer. Although his name is not widely known in mountaineering circles, during his surveying career from 1889 to 1917 he climbed nearly one thousand summits in the American West. More than two hundred of these summits were in Idaho. Bannon’s cryptic reports, supplemented by the rock Cairns, Wooden triangulation signals, chiseled cross-reference marks; … Continue reading
The Lemhi Range’s southern crest between Diamond Peak and Saddle Mountain perfectly frames the northern horizon when viewed from almost anyplace between Idaho Falls and American Falls. This stretch of high mountains with twelve 10ers was constantly on my mind. Sometime in the last few years, I got it in my head that I should traverse the whole thing in … Continue reading