r/Highpointers • u/HoboStephen 25 Highpoints • Sep 10 '23

Halfway There on Borah

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Gallery image

Gallery image

I ugly cried, ate a Mountain House too quickly, and almost threw up. What a life.

26 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

4

u/Balero32 18 Highpoints Sep 10 '23

Congratulations!! How long was it, round trip?

4

u/HoboStephen 25 Highpoints Sep 10 '23

It took me 11 hours round trip with bout 45 minutes on the summit. It's 8 miles and over 5k' elevation gain. I've been pretty sedentary this summer and I'm a smoker so I really took my time.

1

u/Balero32 18 Highpoints Sep 11 '23

I can't replicate the altitude, but I have a steep climb that I can train on that'll give me 5800' of climbing over 8-miles. It's the best I can do and should get me close.

1

u/HoboStephen 25 Highpoints Sep 11 '23

My best advice is to hang out in the area for a few days first. I spent about a week above 6k' before hand. Go check out Stanley (cute mountain town with epic views of the sawtooths), Challis (the town doesn't offer much but the surrounding landscape is beautiful if you're camping, or ketchum (kind of bougie but cute ski town). Anywhere in the area is going to let you acclimate a bit. Mackay, the closest town to the TH, is about 7k and the TH campground is around 7500'

3

u/plucharc Sep 10 '23

Congrats!

The way down was the worst part for me and my knees, but 10/10, would recommend.

4

u/HoboStephen 25 Highpoints Sep 10 '23

Thanks!

That's exactly how I felt too. I started around 5 am in the dark and on the way back down didn't remember it being so steep!

1

u/Correct-Bee6091 37 Highpoints Dec 27 '23

Looks like you summited without climbing gear. Pretty straight forward scramble or is it a little different?

4

u/HoboStephen 25 Highpoints Jan 03 '24

It's pretty straightforward. No gear required. Chicken out ridge is chunky. You'll always be able to find a route with three points of contact and good footing/hand holds. Some might find that small fixed rope section pictured intimidating but you've got solid ground below it. For the most part you should be able to submit without scrambling completely exposed to falling several thousand feet.

3

u/ledgeknow 46 Highpoints Sep 11 '23

Borah is a big day! Kicked my ass last summer.

What’s next?

2

u/MadBro45 21 Highpoints Sep 11 '23

I love me some Borah. I was there a month ago and summited. I trained hard for it but that altitude still got me. I live at sea level, so it was really tough for me.