Silver Peak - 11112'
Location: 43.8455°N, 114.53839°W
Stats
Date: 08/16/2009
Distance: 5.1 miles
Elevation gain: 3000' (net)
Class (difficulty): 3
Time: 5 hours
Range: Boulder
Prominence: 492'
Partner(s): None
Report:
I was planning on doing something big and committed, but a vet visit and work party kept me up late and prevented me from preparing for a trip. Since I had to be in Hailey for work anyway on Monday, I decided to do something short that I could get away with a late start on. I quickly remembered Silver Peak in the Boulders, which you can drive to 8400' on.
Silver Peak is 11112' tall and sits above Silver Lake and is accessed from ID 75 on a steep, but good road. There is a trail to the lake, then a long section of steep class 2, before a short section of class 3 at the summit block.
I hit the trail at exactly 12pm. The skies were somewhat cloudy and it was nice and cool. I followed a trail through woods and then incredible meadows, making my way towards the lake. The trail is a bit faint in spots, will does a good job getting you into the basin. The trail is not shown on the topo, but is easy to find leaving the end of the road. Once I neared the basin, I stayed to the east side of the basin, not venturing to the lake (on the way in at least). This put me just below a scree slope that would take me from the basin at 9800' and put me on the summit ridge at 10800'. After a quick break, I took off up the scree slope.
The slope is loose and steep, but it is not horrible. Trees grow about 1/2 way up the ridge, but it is actually just as steep and loose where the trees are. From time to time, I would find decent footing for several hundred feet. I dreaded going down it though! After 45 minutes I popped up onto the south ridge and could see the remaining obstacles, which were a couple of towers and the summit block. The summit block looked tricky, but I knew of dozens of people that had done it, so I knew it would go. I took a break and enjoyed views of the other Boulder and Smoky peaks around me. At that point a light snow shower moved in. Another cold August day, but I am sweater so I didn't mind the temparature at all!
I turned north and started following the south ridge. It had huge dropoffs on the east side and I bypassed the two towers on the west side (climber's left). This got me to the bottom of the summit block. I found luck staying just left of the ridge. A few moves were moderate class 3, but not very exposed. Soon my persistence paid off and I could see a cairn above me with a nice summit register in it. Along with the familar names (Pat, splattski, BoiseDoc, etc...) in the register, was a funny debate about this peak not really being Silver Peak and that the higher peak 1 mile west of the summit was Silver. Splattski correctly pointed out that was Lorenzo Peak, not Silver Peak.
The weather was still a bit cool and the snow shower had moved off over Boulder Peak. I could still see peaks in the distance like Kent and Ryan, Castle Peak, the Pioneers, etc... It was windless and quiet, but I was solo and had started late, so I wanted to get down.
On the way down, the 1000 feet of scree I was dreading was actually easy to go down. I found a loose goat path and skied most of it, making good time. Once at the basin, I made my way over to Silver Lake. I never did find the trail leaving the lake, so I bushwhacked out of the basin and met up with the trail at around 8800'. This is not really recommended, but it wasn't bad terrain either. This is a quick trip, just over 5 hours for me and highly recommended when you don't have a lot of time.
Getting There:
Follow ID 75 north for about 16 miles. Just after you see the turnoff for Baker Creek Road on the left, look for a turnoff on the right side of the road. Turn right and immediately cross the Big Wood River on a nice bridge. Follow this road, staying right at intersections a 2 occassions to its end at 8400'. Parking is tricky at the end... I used rocks against the tires to ensure my vehicle stayed put. I used 4WD on a few occassions to get up areas where the road was steep and loose.
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