Jeff-KF7NOZ had the privilege of activating W7I/CU-001 on Saturday August 4th 2013. This was the first activation of Idaho's highest peak. It was my second attempt activating this summit and I'm not sure I would have tried a third.
Borah Peak is the highest peak in Idaho. It is named after Idaho senator, William Borah. It is climbed quite often, as it is the state highpoint. Borah\'s most famous feature is \"chicken-out ridge\", which is a knife-edged at about 11,200 feet with 2,000 feet drop-offs on either side. Just after the ridge is a down climb and a snow-bridge crossing... added features that instill fear in some. Main Route: Southwest Ridge Roundtrip mileage: 7 miles Elevation gain: 5,550 feet Getting There Directions: From Arco drive approximatley 45 miles north on US 93. Turn east on Birch Springs Road at the sign for Borah Peak access and drive to its end. At about 3.5 miles the road turns and runs along the earthquake fault of 1983. It then passes through a patch of quaking aspens and emerges at the parking lot. There are several campsites near the trailhead, a lot of parking, and a bathroom.
My daughter Micah and I hit the road after work on Friday arriving at the trailhead campground at 23:00 local time. The goal was to start hiking at 05:00 so we went right to bed. Three more parties drove in at 23:30 pulling trailers and boats, making noise, honking their horns (I'm sure not intentionally) all while trying to park in a very tight parking area. They did a good job maneuvering in the little room they had but they also kept me up until midnight.
We were up at 04:00, organizing snacks and arranging our packs. We headed out at 04:50 with our headlamps on. The tail is well used and not hard to follow but it does climb 5,500 feet in 3.5 miles so don't be in a hurry. For some reason Micah and I both had upset stomachs. Our pre-game dinner at McDonald's and 4 hours of sleep may have both contributed. The churning would last all day but was not severe enough to be more than unpleasant.
Although this is a popular trail, we saw no other climbers for the first three hours. We had started ahead of the crowd. Just prior to the infamous Chicken-Out Ridge two guys caught and passed us. This was a first attempt for one and a second trip after a 12 year recovery for the second.
Chicken-Out Ridge is a knife-edge ridge of rock about 70 yards long with significant elevation gain and 2,000 foot drop-offs on either side. To cross this you are essentially bouldering as the rocks are too jagged to traverse the top. The rock is solid with lots of edges and handholds so if you take your time all should go well. For some the climb to Idaho's highest peak ends here as the sight of the cliffs melts their confidence. Amazingly for all the hundreds of people that climb this mountain it is very rare that an accident is reported.
At the top of the ridge we caught up with the two guys that had passed us. They were "lost" in that they had started to drift too far down the side where there is less to hold on to and a great deal more exposure. They were stuck not knowing which way to go. My daughter who was out front got them back on track. They thanked us once they were off the ridge and again on the summit. There was a reason the second guy hadn't been back for 12 years he hates heights and Chicken-Out Ridge was almost too much for him!
For us it was another two hours to the top. I had done no conditioning as this trip was unplanned until I learned of the W7 SOTA weekend event two weeks prior and I was feeling the climb and the weight of the radio gear.
On top the view was incredible. Although there were large fires burning in the area (we could see two) the smoke was going away from the mountain. After the obligatory summit picture with my daughter I moved down the ridge a bit to get out of the way and setup shop.
I'm fairly new to ham radio and so of course new to SOTA. This was to be my 4th attempt at a SOTA activation. My first two ended in failure with no contacts. 50 weeks earlier I had made this same trek up Borah but had failed to make a single contact. After the huge disappointment of that trip I contacted W7IMC whom I had met via email after his SOTA presentation to our local ham club. Out of the kindness of his heart he spent an afternoon with me helping me tune my radio to my Buddipole antenna and in general giving me an education.
This trip was to be different. I immediately heard traffic when I powered on. I'm still having issues as many could not hear me although I could hear them- I obviously need to spend more time on the radio. As fortune would have it my first contact was W7IMC! Scott was on W7I/BC-080. Scott, that single contact made my day. I made a total of 10 contacts. With experience I could have made many more. Three times I bumped buttons that changed mode or band. Two of those were in the middle of contacts that I never got back. I definitely had 12 thumbs that day. We spent two hours on top enjoying the views, working the radio and talking with hikers about SOTA.
My pack with just my radio gear weighs exactly 20 pounds. Loaded with 2.5 liters of water, first aid/safety kit and a down coat it weighed 32 pounds. Micah carried lunch!
http://idahosummits.com/over12/over12.htm is a great resource in general but specifically for the Idaho peaks over 12,000 feet.
I posted a few pictures to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99910361@N04/sets/72157634965910418/
73s
KF7NOZ