This is my trip report for the successful summiting of Borah Peak on Sunday, September 5, 2010, from the Borah Peak Access Road (Birch Springs Road) Trailhead.
Directions - the directions are very easy as described on such websites as summitpost.org. Take U.S. Highway 93 twenty-one miles north of Mackay, Idaho to the Borah Peak Access Road (Birch Springs Road). This road is between mileposts 129 and 130 on Highway 93; turn right (East) and follow the gravel road to the trailhead. This road is very accessible to passenger cars in dry conditions. The trail is located on the Southeast end of the turnaround area marked with two large plagues about Borah Peak and earthquakes. The trail is a very wide dirt and gravel trail that leads upward across a grassy slope, through the "S" shaped entrance in a fence line, and up into the forest.
Trail Conditions - the trail is very wide and easy to follow in the forest and above treeline to Chicken Out Ridge, and again after the completion of Chicken Out Ridge and the Knife Edge.
Chicken Out Ridge - I thought that all of the stories of this area were overblown; I was wrong. There is a very difficult section approximately twenty five feet in horizontal length that is difficult Class 3 at its easiest with high exposure. I highly recommend that Chicken Out Ridge should not be your first Class 3 adventure, and to get some practice on other mountains with Class 3 conditions prior to attempting Chicken Out Ridge. In addition, please bring an ice axe for the snow crossing at the Knife Edge for added safety.
Time - As I have written in previous trip reports, I consider myself a slow uphill climber. My uphill time from car to summit was five hours and thirty minutes; my downhill time from summit to car was four hours and fifteen minutes.
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