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
Editor’s note: This article from The Idaho Statesman (February 10, 1935) was written by Lyman Marden, one of the participants in the 1934 USGS mapping of the 15-minute Mount Borah quadrangle. The Idaho Statesman (February 10, 1935). By Lyman Marden During the season of 1934, the United States Geological Survey began the mapping of the Borah Peak quadrangle that includes … Continue reading
Kelly Lance, a 49-year-old endurance runner from Pocatello, climbed all of Idaho’s 12,000-foot peaks in a 119-mile, 78-hour push starting on September 2, 2017. Unlike the others who have climbed the 12ers in a single push, Kelly did it without resorting to mechanized transportation, the first traverse of its kind and perhaps the most over-the-top accomplishment on these peaks to … Continue reading
In 2013, Idaho Public Television’s iconic series Outdoor Idaho broadcast a show dedicated to mountain climbing in Idaho. The show included ascents of Vienna Peak in the Sawtooth Range, Scotchman Peak in the Cabinet Mountains, Gilmore Peak in the Lemhi Range, and He Devil in the Seven Devils Mountains. Click on this link to view the show courtesy of Outdoor Idaho. Many … Continue reading