Sawtooths

One might reason that climbing all the Idaho 10ers is simply pursuing a lengthy list of peaks that are generally easier than the 11ers and 12ers. And they would be right…if it weren’t for the Sawtooth Range.

A day of wandering through the Sawtooths: Iron Creek TH > Goat Lake > Mickeys Spire > Mount Carter > Merritt Peak (where this photo was taken)

The Sawtooths are undoubtedly Idaho’s most difficult peaks to climb. Nearly every summit in the state that requires technical climbing lies within that single range. Since its highest peak tops out at 10,751’, peakbaggers pursuing the state’s highest peaks (the 12ers or 11ers) are not obligated to climb any of the Sawtooths. What made this project so special (and intimidating) to me was having to take on the 41 highest peaks in the Sawtooth Range—or 45 highest peaks to complete the Idaho Top 500.

Verita Ridge from McWillards Peak

I’m quite confident no one had ever done this before. It’s an assortment of some difficult peaks, some less-appealing peaks, some hard-to-access peaks, and some so obscure that they had no known ascents. I really didn’t feel like the best person for the job, what with my fear of heights and all. When I was a kid, it was crippling. I recall sitting out when my family went on basic amusement park rides like a Ferris wheel or a gondola. Even open-back staircases were terrifying to me because they resembled a ladder. Anyway, when I got to college I set out to fix some character flaws and that was one of them. And here I am today: a guy known for climbing stuff.

Touching the tippity top of Packrat Peak. The moves up this pinnacle were probably the hardest for me out of any 10er. Taylor made it look easy by climbing with only his hands and feet. I got up close and personal with that granite.

Tales of several memorable Sawtooth climbs can be found on the ‘Selects’ page. Here are some additional snippets from my many days exploring the ‘Tooths:

Packrat Peak. The previous photo is from that spike up top.
Starting my rappel off Warbonnet. I enjoy climbing; I do not enjoy rappeling. For the former you’re taking matters into your own hands and the rope is only there as an emergency backup. When rappeling, you must surrender yourself to the equipment. That’s my take, anyway.
We stumbled upon this astounding stack of boulders one day. After closely examining them, I’ve got my own complex detective story about how they got there…
Okay, so here it goes… Middle boulder is tumbling down the mountain. Gets to lower boulder and barely falls short of the momentum required to roll over it. Starts to tip back uphill, then upper boulder comes down behind it. They collide and lock into this harmonious position.
Taylor Amato on the summit of Heyburn Mountain. It’s probably the second most difficult 10er, after Warbonnet.
Taylor Amato rappeling down the ‘Stur Chimney’ on Heyburn.
I connected two peaks that had possibly never been climbed together. This put me in an obscure nook that had an impressive garden of quartz crystals. (Sorry—I ain’t tellin’)
Donning granite camo on my way up Mount Underhill. I had climbed this peak solo the day before, then when Taylor joined me in the backcountry I was back up it the next day after we climbed Packrat (background).
When we climbed “Red Sentinel” in 2024, throughout the course of the day we noticed that one small fire that no one was really talking about seemed to be growing before our eyes. A day or two later nearly the entire range was shut down and the Wapiti Fire eventually became the biggest wildfire in the American West.
Ninja mode on Point 10168, between Elk Peak and Reward Peak. This was one of those “just in case” ascents where the LiDAR measurements might put this on the 10ers list in the future.
Taking a refreshing dip in an unnamed lake in between summits on a hot summer day.