Cirque Lake Peak, Idaho (10,203ft) Trip Report: Tagged the via East Face August 8th 2023.
The Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho are amazing. It’s packed with stunning rock formations and towering peaks, and the granite is generally solid. Although route information can be hard to find, the remote location allows for adventurous and solitary ascents.
I camped in the Baron Lake’s basin of the Sawtooth range in August with my Dad. He is no longer into climbing, so I was looking for routes I could do solo. Cirque Lake peak intrigued me. It’s the tallest peak amongst a large group of rock towers and formations, but it’s rarely summited. It’s usually climbed from the West side, but I hoped to approach from the East, ascending 1,900 ft from Baron Lake. I like to be well-prepared, but I couldn’t find any useful information online or in the guidebook. In fact, I couldn’t even find a photo of the East side.
I woke up early to try to avoid the thunderstorms, and started walking west from Baron Lake up the steep but pleasant gully towards cirque lake (about 700 vertical feet). There’s not much of a trail here, but I was surprised to find that the ground was mostly solid and green, free of scree, and required only occasional boulder hopping. Fog was in the valley below as the sun rose over Baron Lakes, creating some spectacular photo opportunities!
At elevation 9,050 ft, there is a small hill overlooking cirque lake, which may be the prettiest alpine lake I’ve ever seen. The lake is nestled against sheer granite cliffs, casting perfect reflections in the deep blue-green water. From the hill, cirque lake peak is finally in view. From the lake, it looks shorter than the closer tower formations, but appearance are deceiving.
With another 1,200 feet to go, and the clouds still darkening, I decided to keep moving. I traversed West above the lake to avoid some slabs, then veered North towards the East Face of Cirque Lake Peak. The walking was surprisingly solid, and I enjoyed finding some beautiful smoky quartz crystals amongst the boulders! I began to sort out my route as well as my retreat options in case of a thunderstorm. It looked like the last 500 vertical feet or so would be a scramble. I decided to climb in approach shoes, but pack my climbing shoes in my bag as insurance for down climbing.
At the base of the wall, a short slab with many crack options guards access to a series of short cliffs, ledges and ramps. These features can be ascended to a scree field just below the summit.
I chose to climb an easy slab to a 15 ft slabby hand crack to gain access to a leftward slanting gully (4th class to 5.1? ). From there, I ascended via a series of gullies and ledges which were linked with mostly 4th, and a few low 5th class moves, as well as some tree climbing. The route was great fun, featuring some airy moves between ledges, as well as an exposed mantle. The last move before the scree field had a loose block, but otherwise, the rock felt pretty solid. From there, gaining the peak was a breeze.
On the summit, the clouds finally began to clear, revealing spectacular views between gaps in the clouds! With no sign of thunder, I relaxed and opened the summit-log, which showed about 1 ascent per year, with other climbers approaching from the west side. I’ve heard the west side features a heinous talus field, and only a little fourth class climbing. Sounds like less fun to me!
I was enjoying the scenery and debating if I had time to scramble up another summit before lunch when I was startled by my Dad on the rocky talkie. He was asking if I had seen fish in Cirque Lake. I had, so we formed a plan to meet at Cirque Lake for lunch and fishing, and I decided that one summit was good enough for the day.
Route-finding proved to be the main challenge on the way down. I took pictures on the way up to help remember the route, but I still took a couple of wrong turns, and had to climb back up to find the correct exit off a couple of ledges. I was grateful to a particular tree which helped me avoid down-climbing the mantle move I had done on the way up. The climbing shoes remained in the bag.
By the time I reached cirque lake, the clouds had cleared completely, and it was a spectacularly sunny day. My Dad arrived, and we spent some time fishing unsuccessfully, but enjoying the breathtaking scenery all the same. Cirque Lake gets a 10 out of 10 for beauty, but 1 out of 10 for fishing.
I would definitely recommend climbing Cirque Lake Peak from the east face if you’re in the area. It’s rare to find such an easy scramble so devoid of scree, relatively solid, and with such pristine views! The route gains roughly 1,900 vertical feet over an estimated 1.4 miles from Baron lake to cirque lake peak, with the last 400-500 vertical feet being a “scramble.” As for the scramble-grade, I think it could go at 5.1. This is just a guess, so climb at your own risk. If you climb the route, let me know what you think!
jonathan.l.ingram - Dec 30, 2023 5:24 pm Date Climbed: Aug 8, 2023
Amazing Route!Cirque Lake Peak, Idaho (10,203ft) Trip Report: Tagged the via East Face August 8th 2023.
The Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho are amazing. It’s packed with stunning rock formations and towering peaks, and the granite is generally solid. Although route information can be hard to find, the remote location allows for adventurous and solitary ascents.
I camped in the Baron Lake’s basin of the Sawtooth range in August with my Dad. He is no longer into climbing, so I was looking for routes I could do solo. Cirque Lake peak intrigued me. It’s the tallest peak amongst a large group of rock towers and formations, but it’s rarely summited. It’s usually climbed from the West side, but I hoped to approach from the East, ascending 1,900 ft from Baron Lake. I like to be well-prepared, but I couldn’t find any useful information online or in the guidebook. In fact, I couldn’t even find a photo of the East side.
I woke up early to try to avoid the thunderstorms, and started walking west from Baron Lake up the steep but pleasant gully towards cirque lake (about 700 vertical feet). There’s not much of a trail here, but I was surprised to find that the ground was mostly solid and green, free of scree, and required only occasional boulder hopping. Fog was in the valley below as the sun rose over Baron Lakes, creating some spectacular photo opportunities!
At elevation 9,050 ft, there is a small hill overlooking cirque lake, which may be the prettiest alpine lake I’ve ever seen. The lake is nestled against sheer granite cliffs, casting perfect reflections in the deep blue-green water. From the hill, cirque lake peak is finally in view. From the lake, it looks shorter than the closer tower formations, but appearance are deceiving.
With another 1,200 feet to go, and the clouds still darkening, I decided to keep moving. I traversed West above the lake to avoid some slabs, then veered North towards the East Face of Cirque Lake Peak. The walking was surprisingly solid, and I enjoyed finding some beautiful smoky quartz crystals amongst the boulders! I began to sort out my route as well as my retreat options in case of a thunderstorm. It looked like the last 500 vertical feet or so would be a scramble. I decided to climb in approach shoes, but pack my climbing shoes in my bag as insurance for down climbing.
At the base of the wall, a short slab with many crack options guards access to a series of short cliffs, ledges and ramps. These features can be ascended to a scree field just below the summit.
I chose to climb an easy slab to a 15 ft slabby hand crack to gain access to a leftward slanting gully (4th class to 5.1? ). From there, I ascended via a series of gullies and ledges which were linked with mostly 4th, and a few low 5th class moves, as well as some tree climbing. The route was great fun, featuring some airy moves between ledges, as well as an exposed mantle. The last move before the scree field had a loose block, but otherwise, the rock felt pretty solid. From there, gaining the peak was a breeze.
On the summit, the clouds finally began to clear, revealing spectacular views between gaps in the clouds! With no sign of thunder, I relaxed and opened the summit-log, which showed about 1 ascent per year, with other climbers approaching from the west side. I’ve heard the west side features a heinous talus field, and only a little fourth class climbing. Sounds like less fun to me!
I was enjoying the scenery and debating if I had time to scramble up another summit before lunch when I was startled by my Dad on the rocky talkie. He was asking if I had seen fish in Cirque Lake. I had, so we formed a plan to meet at Cirque Lake for lunch and fishing, and I decided that one summit was good enough for the day.
Route-finding proved to be the main challenge on the way down. I took pictures on the way up to help remember the route, but I still took a couple of wrong turns, and had to climb back up to find the correct exit off a couple of ledges. I was grateful to a particular tree which helped me avoid down-climbing the mantle move I had done on the way up. The climbing shoes remained in the bag.
By the time I reached cirque lake, the clouds had cleared completely, and it was a spectacularly sunny day. My Dad arrived, and we spent some time fishing unsuccessfully, but enjoying the breathtaking scenery all the same. Cirque Lake gets a 10 out of 10 for beauty, but 1 out of 10 for fishing.
I would definitely recommend climbing Cirque Lake Peak from the east face if you’re in the area. It’s rare to find such an easy scramble so devoid of scree, relatively solid, and with such pristine views! The route gains roughly 1,900 vertical feet over an estimated 1.4 miles from Baron lake to cirque lake peak, with the last 400-500 vertical feet being a “scramble.” As for the scramble-grade, I think it could go at 5.1. This is just a guess, so climb at your own risk. If you climb the route, let me know what you think!