Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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43.74080°N / 114.1172°W |
Route Type:
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Mountaineering |
Season:
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Summer |
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Time Required:
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One to two days |
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Rock Difficulty:
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Class 4 |
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Overview
Old Hyndman Peak From Wild Horse Canyon Any climber who has been to the mouth of Wild Horse Canyon has a mental picture of Old Hyndman peak burned into their visual cortex. I put off climbing it for nearly three years until I found a partner willing to team up for try on the north east face. Unfortunately my partner, who was still on the mend from a mountain bike injury (shattered hip) had to bail on the first pitch when his leg went on strike.The photo below shows the route climbed. The intended route would have started in the shallow couloir in the center of the pic. The red line shows the high point I hit before I turned tail and ran for the ridge.
Getting There
From Mackay: Take US Highway 93 16 miles north of Mackay to the Trail Creek Road. Turn left on the Trail Creek Road. Follow this road 18 miles to the Copper Basin Road. Turn left on the Copper Basin Road. Follow this road 2 miles to the Wildhorse Creek Road. Stay to the right on the Wildhorse Creek Road. Follow the Wildhorse Creek Road 5.5 miles to the campground. The road continues for another 3 miles up the canyon but you'll need a high clearance 4X4 vehicle to negotiate the numerous Idaho obstacles.From Sun Valley/Ketchum: Take Highway 75 (main street) to Sun Valley Road. Turn northeast onto the Sun Valley Road. This road turns into Trail Creek Road. Follow this road to the Copper Basin road. Turn right on the Copper Basin Road. Follow this road 2 miles to the Wildhorse Creek Road. Stay to the right on the Wildhorse Creek Road. Follow the Wildhorse Creek Road 5.5 miles to the campground.
Route Description
From the end of the road near Wild Horse Mine, follow the canyon for another two miles to the north east face. Work your way around to the right side of the north ridge and then scramble up the long talus slope to the face. Enter the short deep gully depicted in the photo above. Climb approximately 1,000’ on fairly stable class 4 rock toward the summit. Exit onto the ridge in the upper col at 11,400’ (you’ll be even with the bottom of the black dike) from there climb the ridge to the summit.Another more obvious option, is to exit 200’ below into the lower col. From there, work your way over to the standard route.
The descent.
From the top work your way down to the lower col on the ridge leading to Cob peak. Down climb easier class 4 slopes all the way to the narrow steep walled gully where you started. Avoid the temptation to hike further down the ridge leading to Cob peak, the climbing only gets steeper.
I’d seriously underestimated the route down the north east face. I should have retraced my steps but instead I hiked down the ridge too far. The first two rappels looked like a way to easier ground, but once I pulled the rope, I was married to it. This was rap #4 of 7. By the time I hit the bottom of the face I had two pitons and 4’ of 6mm cord.External Links
Easily Idaho's best guide,Idaho A Climbing Guide I've thumbed through it so many times it's now in peices and I have yet to be steered wrong. It has just enough information to get you there. thankfully it's not a step by step, hold your hand, how too manual.Idaho Summits .com A well done site featuring Idaho peaks plus a cool forum on Idaho Outdoors.
Lost River Ranger District A branch of the Salmon / Challis National forest Service.
There are several places to pitch a tent in the upper reaches of the canyon. I've used this spot for both Hyndman peaks.