US State Highpoints (the ones that matter)

The other day I realized that I've reached the summit of many of the state high points in the west.  I'm not sure how serious my attempt will be, but I'll try to tick off the rest when the opportunity arises.

The day after Matt and I climbed Shoshone Spire, we hiked Borah Peak, Idaho's tallest peak.  We hiked a trail that gained a little over 5,000 ft in 3-1/2 miles.  The hike involved about 150 yards of Class 3 scrambling but was otherwise just a steep hike.  We started hiking at 4:15 am and reached the summit 3-1/2 hours later.  As this was a Saturday, and apparently this is a popular thing to do on the weekend, we encountered about 200 hikers (all going up) on our way down, most of which were freaking out at the Class 3 section.  Matt wrote a more detailed post on his blog.

Matt approaching the summit shortly after sunrise

With Idaho ticked off the list, this is where I stand:

State High Points Completed:

• Oregon: Mount Hood - 11,249 ft
• Colorado: Mount Elbert - 14,440 ft
• Alaska: Denali - 20,237 ft
• Washington: Mount Rainier - 14,411 ft
• Wyoming: Gannett Peak - 13,809 ft
• Idaho: Borah Peak - 12,668 ft

Still on the list:

• Montana: Granite Peak - 12,807 ft
• California: Mount Whitney - 14,505 ft
• Nevada: Boundary Peak - 13,147 ft
• Utah: Kings Peak - 13,534 ft
• Arizona: Humphreys Peak - 12,637 ft
• New Mexico: Wheeler Peak - 13,167 ft

While this is only half, most of the mountains climbed are the most technical/challanging.  We'll see how things go, but now that I have a list it'll probably happen.