Posing with El Capitan (far right)
I celebrated my birthday weekend by attending the Idaho Summit's Fall Outing to climb El Capitan in the Sawtooth Range, Idaho. Dan, the owner/moderator of the Idaho Summits website/board started the outings in 2004. Weather cancelled two trips I tried to attend, so I didn't actually meet these guys in person until the Fall 2009 outing, which made this my third outing.
El Capitan turned out to be a perfect peak for the 12 that attended. Although it was slightly under 10K, the peak offered a pleasant scenic approach, rock hopping among snow patches, class 3+ scrambling, an exposed final approach ridge, and a rather "airy" summit. We got all 12 mountaineers on top, but it was crowded. With 800+ft drop-offs all around, maneuvering was a careful undertaking, which made it all the better.
Class III climbingAt least five other members of the group are prolific writers. So, I decided to let John P, Steve, Dan, Kris, and John F labor over their trip reports for me to link to, while I collected the group's photos to make a video trip report. (If your computer can handle it, be sure to select a higher resolution to view.)
If you don't already know why I picked the music I did, check this out.
If you'd rather not have DLR screaming at you, here is the photo album.
Check out the other trip reports for more thoughts and great photos.
Dan's Trip Report
John's Trip Report
Steve's Trip Report
Kris' Trip Report
Fadgen Family's Trip Report
Congrats and many thank yous to friends and climbing partners: Dan Robbins, John Platt, Steve Weston, Margie Ankrum, Pam Shirey, Dave Garton, Barbara Rose, Kris Franklin, Jacob Robinson, John and Dylan Fadgen.
Summit Girl on the summit
