North American Classic Climbs

Elephant's Perch

Mountaineers Route

This route, one of the finest in the underrepresented state of Idaho, lies on a high-country dome of perfect granite that would be at home in Yosemite's Tuolumne Meadows, and would stand out even there for the length and quality of the climbing it offers. First climbed by Fred Beckey and partners in 1963 when it was still known as Sawtooth Dome, the Perch now has over 25 developed routes. The route chosen for this collection is the most popular, perhaps because it is the easiest, but also because of the unrelenting quality of the climbing, which includes clean cracks, good edges, and generally wildly exposed climbing on superb rock. As if that weren't enough, it is set in the most scenic mountain range in the state, which offers many other rock climbing and mountaineering objectives. The Mountaineers Route was discovered by a team of expert granite climbers of the golden age in Yosemite.

Type:

Alpine Rock

Seriousness:

Location:

Sawtooth National Recreation Area, Idaho

References:

G29

Rating:

III, 5.9

Route Descriptions & Maps:

First Ascent:

G. Webster, TM Herbert, D. Henneck, summer 1967

Trip reports:

Clark 6/02