SMOKY MOUNTAINS

The Smoky Mountains are located on the west side of the Wood River Valley, the home of Ketchum and Sun Valley. The range extends south from the Sawtooth Range 40 miles to the flats of the Camas Prairie. The range’s 10,000-foot peaks are all located north of Ketchum and all but one, Big Peak, is located on the main crest. … Continue reading

Slab Butte

Climbing and access information for this peak is on Page 111 of the book. Updated August 2019 At the time the book was published, I had not climbed Slab Butte and only one climber had reported climbing the peak. On September 17, 2000, I finally made it to the mountain. Slab Butte is a fish fin-shaped summit composed of good, … Continue reading

Boulder Mountain 8377

Climbing and access information for this peak is on Page 114 of the book. Below you will find John Platt’s new and interesting route for this peak. Updated April 2018 This peak, one of 3 Idaho summits named Boulder Mountain, offers great views and is one of the easier summits to climb in the McCall area. As of July 2001, … Continue reading

Jughandle Mountain

Climbing and access information for this peak is on Page 114 of the book. Michael Stoger and his climbing partners put up many new routes on this peak’s North Face between 2002 and 2004. Thanks to Mike, these routes are documented below. Jughandle Mountain is probably the most popular summit in the Western Salmon River Mountains. Its popularity is due … Continue reading

Garden Mountain

This peak is not in the book because of nearby roads. However, before the snow melts, it is a good peak to ski or snowshoe. I snowshoed up this peak with John and Tom Platt and Brian Mahon in 2009. It is a long hike with a lot of elevation gain when you start from Banks, Idaho. We parked near … Continue reading