Me and my partner summited Hyalite 3:28 in and finished the route in 7:45. There was about 20 verts of snow before the first saddle but was otherwise snow free. There was one 25-30 ft pitch of low exposure class 4 that couldn't be avoided with out climbing the opposite face. There was also some class 3 between peaks 3 and four. The route is otherwise as described. Wildflowers were close to full bloom, the ridge has lots of opal embedded in the rock, and the bighorns were very active! It was a little smoky but we could still see the reservoir from the summit so it wasn't bad. All in all another great day in the mountains!
jrulseh - Aug 4, 2008 3:36 pm Date Climbed: Aug 3, 2008
Hyalite Ridge Traverse August 2008
Incredible hike!
I extended the loop by parking at the Mount Blackmore TH, near the dam. From there, I hiked up to Hyalite Peak, then all the way down the Hyalite Ridge to Mount Blackmore, finally returning to the vehicle after a +- 20 mile loop.
This is a great route with some more technical sections of class IV plus between Mount Bole and Elephant Mountain. I would recomend this route for the more experienced hiker trying to get away from the crowds. Did not see a single person on the 8 miles of off trail hiking between Hyalite and Blackmore, but saw plenty of Mountain Goats. One of the summit registers on this loop was started in 1976, and only had a few dozen entries. It looks like this area gets very little use.
mtaventurine - Jul 12, 2021 3:28 pm Date Climbed: Jul 10, 2021
Excellent route but class 4 seemed unavoidableMe and my partner summited Hyalite 3:28 in and finished the route in 7:45. There was about 20 verts of snow before the first saddle but was otherwise snow free. There was one 25-30 ft pitch of low exposure class 4 that couldn't be avoided with out climbing the opposite face. There was also some class 3 between peaks 3 and four. The route is otherwise as described. Wildflowers were close to full bloom, the ridge has lots of opal embedded in the rock, and the bighorns were very active! It was a little smoky but we could still see the reservoir from the summit so it wasn't bad. All in all another great day in the mountains!
jrulseh - Aug 4, 2008 3:36 pm Date Climbed: Aug 3, 2008
Hyalite Ridge Traverse August 2008Incredible hike!
I extended the loop by parking at the Mount Blackmore TH, near the dam. From there, I hiked up to Hyalite Peak, then all the way down the Hyalite Ridge to Mount Blackmore, finally returning to the vehicle after a +- 20 mile loop.
This is a great route with some more technical sections of class IV plus between Mount Bole and Elephant Mountain. I would recomend this route for the more experienced hiker trying to get away from the crowds. Did not see a single person on the 8 miles of off trail hiking between Hyalite and Blackmore, but saw plenty of Mountain Goats. One of the summit registers on this loop was started in 1976, and only had a few dozen entries. It looks like this area gets very little use.