A classic Class II Idaho climb, Smiley Mountain should be on your list.
- June 27, 2009
- Team: Zach
- Summit: 11508', 4200' gain, 3hrs
- 9.25 miles, 6 hours car-to-car
Note: click images to see a larger version in a new window
Zach and I found out that we both had Smiley on our lists (thanks, Dan!). So after some stiff negotiations, we decided on my Suby at 4am Saturday. Just a few hours later we were on Antelope Creek road with our objective in sight. |
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| We drove slightly past the Iron Bog campground before abandoning the car at 845am. There is a road in there somewhere, and it was refreshing. |  |
| After the wading of the creek, we jumped right onto the ridge. This is a slightly different route than others have discussed, but ours is highly recommended. After about a 600' grunt through some thick sagebrush, you hear Julie Andrews singing "The Sound of Music." And the ridge is like this the whole way to the beginning of the talus. Breathtaking. |  |
But when you hit the talus, you still have to climb the talus. It's about 1100' from here to the summit. But not so bad.
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The final 250' of the previously discussed 1100' of talus is on this broad summit ridge. |
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| Being the tallest mountain around, Smiley Mtn really does off some great views. We marveled at the views as we traversed the ridge. Here's the high Pioneers, including Hyndman, Cobb, and Old Hyndman. |  |
Without undue stress, we made the summit in about 3 hours from the car. Gorgeous day. We were ready to crank back and watch the sun move. |
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| But then we noticed this nasty little bugger trying to sneak up on us. So we signed in, laughed about the summit entries of our friends, and headed down quickly. |  |
Where's Waldo? |
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And as luck would have it, the clouds settled down and left. But no matter- we still had a long way to go so getting on the move was a good thing. On the way home, we took the Fish Creek shortcut. Very pretty country, but close to the limit of what the Suby could handle. Going the other way over Fish Creek pass may require a vehicle with low range. But it saved almost an hour. PS- Zach is the best partner, because he brought beer! |
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