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Ketchum area opinions??

PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 10:17 pm
by Tonka
We are heading back to beautiful Ketchum/Sun Valley for a few days next week and I'm looking for some opinions. Last time we were there we were winded off Galena peak during a warm April which turned out to be a good thing because the deep snow warmed and made for some mean, deep post holing. Had we made the summit I may very well still be trying to get down. We've been hitting a few high points lately and Borah seems like a fun option and of course we're looking at getting back at Galena. This seems like a pretty easy day in the summer. Any advice.... We don't need to stay in Ketchum but we love the area.

Re: Ketchum area opinions??

PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 10:30 pm
by Dow Williams
whether you are a climber or not....Elephant Perch at Saddleback Lake is an amazing place to spend the night...we were climbing up there last week and had it to ourselves...the fires make anything north of there not worthy at the moment...I just drove down from Alberta on 93

Re: Ketchum area opinions??

PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 11:33 pm
by awilsondc
Lots of good options around that area. What are you into? You mentioned highpoints so Borah is the obvious choice. Looking for an overnighter? Technical climb? Scramble? Some recommendations would include:

Thompson: http://www.summitpost.org/thompson-peak/153013 - Sawtooth Mountains highpoint.

Hyndman: http://www.summitpost.org/hyndman-peak/150267 - Long climb for 1 day (12 miles 5000 ele) but it's a 12er.

Cobb: http://www.summitpost.org/cobb-peak/154327 - SW face is an epic class 3 scramble. One of the best I've done.

Castle Peak: http://www.summitpost.org/castle-peak/152077 - Highpoint of the White Cloud Mountains. Great if you want an overnighter.

I could offer some more suggestions, but this is a good start. Hope this helps.

Re: Ketchum area opinions??

PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:11 pm
by splattski
+1 for Hyndman or Cobb.

The best recommendation depends on how long of an approach hike, level of difficulty, amount and roughness of driving. But I think from Ketchum the closest/best is the Pioneer range. Here's my Pioneer TR list:
http://www.splattski.com/overview/idaho ... l#pioneers

If you're up for a bit of scrambling (a bit more technical) consider Old Hyndman, Big Basin, or Goat.

Re: Ketchum area opinions??

PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 7:03 pm
by Tonka
Thanks all! Looks like some good options there. We don't mind long days, some suffering and we like the class 3 and 4 stuff.

Would Borah really be a 3 hour drive from Ketchum as Google tells me?

Re: Ketchum area opinions??

PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 8:18 pm
by TimB
Tonka wrote:Thanks all! Looks like some good options there. We don't mind long days, some suffering and we like the class 3 and 4 stuff.

Would Borah really be a 3 hour drive from Ketchum as Google tells me?


Hmmm, seems to me if you went over Trail Creek summit(East of Ketchum) and over to Mackay and then to Borah you could cut a bit off that time?

Also, I second the Elephant's Perch idea. A fantastic area to climb and just to hike around.

Re: Ketchum area opinions??

PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 2:52 pm
by splattski
Going over Trail Creek summit from Sun Valley, I think you can get to Borah from Ketchum in about an hour. Maybe 90 minutes at the most?

Re: Ketchum area opinions??

PostPosted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 11:01 pm
by Tonka
Argghh!
Researching options can be tough for anyone but for someone outside of the area and a flatlander it can be really tough. Cobb sounds wild! The pure straight up gain of Borah sounds like a test. And Hyndman sorta seems like the easy way out but I'm sure it's not. All these options look great to me.

It looks like the main route to either Cobb or Hyndman have the same TH. Is this correct?

Re: Ketchum area opinions??

PostPosted: Wed Sep 19, 2012 2:52 pm
by BeDrinkable
Tonka wrote:It looks like the main route to either Cobb or Hyndman have the same TH. Is this correct?

That's correct. The route up Hyndman starts out hiking directly toward the face of Cobb. If you want a really interesting day, do Cobb and then the ridge traverse over to Old Hyndman.
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Re: Ketchum area opinions??

PostPosted: Wed Sep 19, 2012 10:05 pm
by boisedoc
As splattski said, you can get to the Borah trailhead in a bit over an hour from Ketchum if you take the Trail Creek Road. Its a dirt road road but in good shape for a car. Not sure when you are heading out here, but there is no snow right now so all of Borah should be straightforward. Hyndman doesn't have much scrambling but is still a pretty long hike. For my money, the three premiere Pioneer scrambles are Cobb, Old Hyndman and Devil's Bedstead East- all fun scrambles on relatively sturdy rock up very impressive peaks. Hard to say if there will be any smoke but last week it was pretty clear up there.