Stats
Date: 5/13/2007
Distance: 9 miles
Elevation gain: 3600'
Class (difficulty): 3
Time: 8.5 hours
Report:
Zach and I headed over to the Lost Rivers to climb Doublespring Peak during a warm stretch of May weather. This would be Zach's first time using crampons, so it was exciting, yet I knew we would be able to get him up a route that would be safe for a beginner on the tame Cayuse Canyon/North ridge route.
We arrived in the Lost Rivers in the evening. After finding the trailhead and figuring out where to camp we followed the rough road further into the Pahsimeroi Valley and viewed the sun setting on Mount Corruption, Leatherman Peak, etc... We then returned, setup camp, drank a few beers and hit the sleeping bags for an early start.
We started hiking at 5:30am. As we made our way up the jeep track in Cayuse Canyon, we crossed snow drifts that were fairly solid. I thought we might get lucky and have great snow up high. As we followed the canyon, the sun rose over the Lemhis and we were treated to great alpen glow on the peaks around us. We could avoid snow for the most part on the ridges just above the canyon bottom. Once we popped out of the trees, we got on pretty good snow on mellow slopes. We followed these slopes to 10,000 feet, where we donned crampons for the first time.
The snow above 10,000 feet was decent and we cruised up to the 10,400' saddle just north of the peak. The ridge was mixed rock and snow, so we left crampons on. Neither of us were feeling great, so the 1200' of gain on the ridge was slow. About 150' below the summit, we reached a large drift the blocked the route. Climbing over this drift was the crux of the climb, but the snow was solid and kicking steps into the steep drift made it easy to overcome and safe.
The second we crested the top of the peak, we were met with an incredible view of the north face of Borah Peak. Doublespring Peak also has great views of the Lemhi, Pioneer, and White Cloud ranges; as well as Doublespring Pass which is right at your feet. We took cat naps on top of the peak and then headed down. After we passed the crux, I was getting sick of my crampons balling up, so I ditched them in favor of plunge stepping. This seems to be a much faster method of travel. Once off the ridge, 3 glissades on wet snowfields got me down to 10,000' quickly. Unfortunately, only one slope below 10,000' offered a glissade, and that was only like 100'.
Getting there:
From Mackay, drive north on US 93 for 22 miles and turn east onto the Doublespring Pass Road. After about 5 miles you reach Doublespring Pass. Continue heading east on the road for about 3 more miles. Look for a sign identifying "Horseheaven Pass" and take a right onto that road. Follow this poor road over broad plains up to Horseheaven Pass. Just past the pass, look for a 4x4 road heading up into the head of Cayuse Canyon. We parked at a water tank just before the road deteriorated into a jeep road.
Hiking instructions:
Follow the road up Cayuse Canyon. You are intially heading southwest in a narrow canyon. Eventually you will head due west. When the canyon forks, go right and wind around until you reach the saddle between Doublespring and Peak 10878. To this point the terrain has been easy. The ridge is not too bad, but you will contend with some rock and scree. Follow the ridge directly to the top.
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Photos
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| Mount Borah the day before our climb. |
Mount McCaleb from the restaraunt we ate at. |
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| Lost River Peak. |
Another shot of the Lost River Peak area. |
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| Leatherman Peak the evening before our climb. |
Corruption Peak the evening before our climb. |
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| Pahsemeroi Valley. |
Bell Mountain in the early am. |
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| Peak 10878 catching the first rays of sunlight. |
Peak 10878 again. |
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| Zach cramponing above me. |
Looking down at our route. |
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| The might north face of Mount Borah. |
Me and Zach on top of the peak. |
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| Doublespring Peak's southwest ridge. |
Doublespring Pass from the summit. |
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| Zach downclimbing the crux move on the route. |
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| One of my glissade paths... the snow was perfect for it. |
Doublespring Peak's eastern side from Cayuse Canyon. |
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