Duane Monte 1950-2001 by Rick Baugher

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

T.M. Bannon by Rick Baugher

T.M. Bannon. USGS Photo

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

Sawtooth Mountaineering by Frank Florence

Frank Florence on the East Face of Borah.

Editor’s Note: Sawtooth Mountaineering was Boise’s first climbing shop. It was founded by Lou and Frank Florence. The shop was an important link between many of Idaho’s premier climbers and the development of Idaho’s technical climbing scene. Bob Boyles (quoted on Page 23 of the book) noted the shop’s importance as a hub for local climbers, stating “The thirty or … Continue reading

Mount Borah: Dirty Traverse and Northeast Ridge Variation – East Face by Bob Boyles

Bob Boyles provided the following history and, with Wes Collins, the route descriptions (below) for these two East Face Routes. I first visited the East Side of the Lost River Range (The Pahsimeroi Valley) in 1972, while working on a helicopter contract for the Forest Service. Flying through the range provided me a view that few ever get to see. … Continue reading

Lee Morrison

Lee Morrison leading his survey crew across Chicken Out Ridge on Mount Borah. Lyman Marden Photo

Lee Morrison was a USGS topographic engineer who led many mapping expeditions in Idaho in the 1920s and 1930s. He announced in 1929 that his calculations had identified an unnamed peak in the Pahsimeroi Mountains of the Lost River Range as being much higher than Mount Hyndman. The peak was soon there after named Borah Peak (aka Mount Borah). In … Continue reading