Stop 1: Idaho

The first 'destination' was a climbing area in the South of Idaho aptly named 'City of Rocks'. It's a bizarre sensation driving through dirt roads alongside cows grazing in the fields (with the accompanying smells) only to reach a climber's paradise filled with boulders and intriguing rock faces that emerge unnaturally from the surrounding plain.

I joined up with a small group of friends who were spending the month in a Airbnb town-house. The stifling heat and smoke from the West Coast fire season tempered the desire to climb every waking moment, but it is hard to resist for too long! On my last day, a small group of us decided to get up early and climb a slab multi-pitch that led to breathtaking views.... and swarms of flying bugs that prompted a quick rappel. Having only spent a few days here I felt somewhat guilty moving on so quickly, but Dan and I were trying to climb The Elephant's Perch up in Stanley, ID before the weather turned (which we were soon to find out, already had started).

There are a lot of places in the world that I can see once, appreciate what it has to offer, but feel no real compelling desire to return. Stanley is not one of those places. I had come by earlier in the summer on a road-trip through advice from a coworker/friend and was immediately blown away by the expanse of adventure the area had to offer. I quickly remarked that it was 'The Mazama of Idaho' with the almost romantic small town of Stanley (population ~70!) providing the feeling of a little oasis in the mountains. The well renowned bakery would be a sin to miss and the outdoor patios with the backdrop of jagged peaks of The Sawtooth Range make for a perfect evening meal. I would have come back just for the town itself, but there are things to see and rocks to climb! Namely, The Elephant's Perch.

I had scoped out the logistics of climbing the ~1,000 foot rock face earlier in the summer, but a few things had changed since then. Most importantly, the days were getting darker and the weather was a lot more volatile! Dan and I drove up from City of Rocks and camped out on the river in Stanley the night before. Temperatures were already feeling nippy at that point and confirmed by the healthy layer of frost in the morning. We got up at a reasonable time, snagged a breakfast from the bakery, and then made our way towards Redfish Lodge to catch a ride on a boat to the trailhead. Forecasts indicated there was a chance things could get colder- and they sure did. We hiked around the surrounding lakes before setting up camp at which point things started turning quickly. Winds picked up (apparently >30mph gusts) only to be quickly succeeded by a snow flurry. With not much else to do, we retreated to the tent for what ended up being a long night with mixed success on sleep as temperatures continued to drop (apparently reaching 18F/-8C with wind chill). Luckily by morning things were looking up - or at least tolerable.

We got up at 7:30 to get to the wall and get the day started. The climb itself went fairly smoothly with alternating leads and minimal issues on route finding. The towering rock was decently cold and the occasional wind gust kept the mental fire burning to move quickly. With what was a welcomed change of pace after many late night repels in our previous multi-pitch experiences, Dan and I got to the 'summit' of The Perch well in time to for a quick bite before the walk off/rappel descent to catch our ferry back. Not much was said on the hike out as by then both our minds were completely oriented to dinner. A large pizza would barely suffice.