Skiing on Idaho’s High Point

The first of two videos on Idaho’s high point was released. The High Point Shorts series is just music and mountains, no narration. This video of a solo attempt of Borah Peak (also known as Mount Borah) captures epic views on what is perhaps the most beautiful of state high points (totally subjective opinion!). The skiing itself was a terrible with an almost breakable crust with powder-covered sharp rocks underneath. Narrow steep skiing between rocks and through avy chunder made it hard. I crossed avy chunks at least 6 times and had to downclimb around a small waterfall. Skiing a month early in 2017 would have been much better. I skied very conservatively as I was alone and the crust could trick me up in no fall zones at any time.

Being only one of two skiers in the entire Lost River Range that day was epic. Massive solitude, on massive 5000+ vert peaks, and surreal peaks all made for an unforgettable experience. I watched a skier on Mount Church cut great corn turns. I had to choose between skiing down from 11300′ on still-firm crust, or spend more time going to the summit and risk the thin snowcover becoming breakable to sharp rocks underneath, along with wet slide potential in the steep lower half of the bowl. I skied down from where I was and vowed to return under better conditions. The climb up on the Chicken Out Ridge was incredible and beautiful. It had sections of ridge climbing above 2000′ drops and one scary snow traverse around a “snow gendarme” which was were some previous tracks had stopped. Idaho is an incredible treat with accessible Teton-like peaks and trackless solitude not found often in much of Colorado. The video is an ode to the beauty I found there.

 

 

Nearby states articles and videos:

Mount Rainier, Washington >
Mount Hood, Oregon >
Gannett Peak, Wyoming >
Kings Peak, Utah >