Mountaineering 1998

Failed Attempts | First 10,000 footers | More 10,000 footers | Red Pine Trip | Wasatch Mountaineering | Colorado Trip
Wasatch Mountaineering | Uintas Trip: August | Uintas Trip: September | Bells Trip | Moab Trip

The idea to climb all 32 10,000 ft peaks in Salt Lake County came from James and his book, Hiking The Wasatch. Our goal was to do all the peaks in 1 year. Nobody finished all of them in 1998, but James and Keith did in 1999, but that's another story. It was the goal of James, Duane, Keith, Matt, and Dan. Everyone else with peaks only attends hikes when they are able to, because of jobs, family, etc. These are the 32 peaks, and who has climbed each one in 1998. To see who climbed what in 1999, look in 32 Peaks '99.

1. American Fork Twins 11,489: James, Keith, Duane, Dan
2. Broads Fork Twins 11,330: James, Keith, Dan, Matt
3. Pfeifferhorn 11,326: James, Keith, Duane, Dan, Don S, Greg F
4. White Baldy 11,321: James, Keith, Duane, Dan, Don S
5. Sunrise 11,275:
6. Lone Peak 11,253:
7. Red Baldy 11,171:
8. South Thunder Mountain 11,154:
9. North Thunder Mountain 11,150:
10. Monte Cristo 11,132: James, Keith, Duane, Dan
11. Dromedary 11,107: James, Duane
12. Mount Baldy 11,068: James, Keith, Duane, Dan
13. Sugarloaf 11,051: James, Keith, Duane, Dan
14. Unnamed 10,910:
15. Big Horn 10,877:
16. Mount Wolverine 10,795: James, Keith, Duane, Dan
17. Clayton Peak 10,721: James, Duane, Dan, Matt
18. Sunset Peak 10,648: James, Keith, Duane, Dan
19. Flagstaff (North Peak) 10,561: James, Duane, Dan
20. Hogum Divide 10,516: James, Keith, Duane, Matt
21. Bells Cleaver 10,488:
22. Honeycomb Cliffs 10,479: James, Duane
23. Pioneer Peak 10,440: James, Keith, Duane, Dan
24. Mount Venture 10,420: James, Duane, Dan, Matt
25. Kessler Peak 10,403:
26. Preston Peak 10,315: James, Duane, Dan, Matt
27. Rocky Mouth Canyon Peak 10,292:
28. Gobbler's Knob 10,246: James, Keith, Dan, Matt
29. Mount Raymond 10,241: James, Keith, Dan, Matt
30. Scott Hill 10,116: James, Duane, Chris
31. Guardsman Peak 10,026: James, Duane, Dan, Matt
32. Silver Peak 10,006:

James, Duane, and Isaac went to Kodachrome Basin with their scout troop in April. They were able to do a lot of hiking, as well as a little bouldering.

Looking at Kodachrome Basin from a pass above it | James at their camp in Kodachrome Basin

James and Duane attempted Mount Raymond over Mother's Day, but were turned back by bad weather. Another failure took place on Pfeifferhorn, where James and Duane were forced to turn around because of Duane feeling sick, and bad weather.

Duane climbing towards White Fir Pass | Duane on White Fir Pass | Duane sliding down snow near White Fir Pass
Looking at the Pfeifferhorn from just below Upper Red Pine Lake

James went with some other people to Topaz Mountain, and did a 32 mile bike ride with a guy from his scout troop, Greg D. They went from Spor Valley to Fish Springs NWR, and back.

Looking northeast from Spor Mountain | Looking northwest from Spor Mountain
Looking down on the camp from Spor Mountain | Looking northeast from James' tent
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James did a 10,000 footer, Mount Millicent, alone, on June 29. However, Millicent doesn't count since it is less than 200 feet above the ridge connecting it to Wolverine. He took the north ridge, which was a great mountaineering route though. James and Duane finally summited their first 10,000 foot peak, Honeycomb Cliffs (10,479). It was a short hike, that was relatively easy. They were near the summit, when Duane dropped his pack off of a cliff. It rolled a long way to the bottom, but after returning from the summit, they were able to get it back.

Looking at Tuscarora and Sunset Peak from Mount Millicent | Looking at Mount Wolverine from Honeycomb Cliffs
James sliding down a snow slope below Honeycomb Cliffs | Duane sliding down a snow slope below Honeycomb Cliffs
Duane jumping onto a slope just below Honeycomb Cliffs
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James, Duane, Dan, and Matt made a hike near Guardsman Pass to climb Guardsman Peak (10,028), Mt Venture (10,420), Clayton Peak (10,720), and Unnamed (10,315). The day started out overcast and windy, but turned nice right after they descended from Clayton. Dan found a ski, which he carried all the way down, and we later engraved all of the 32 peaks names on. There is a summit register on the summit of Clayton which has been in place since the 50's. They wrote about the peaks goal, and all signed the register. On the summit of Unnamed, they found a sign that read "Preston Peak 10,315", so they called it Preston from that point on.

James and Matt on Clayton Peak | Dan and Duane on Clayton Peak | Duane and Dan with the ski
James and Matt with the ski | Dan descending Clayton Peak | Matt descending Preston Peak

The next hike was up Mount Raymond (10,241) and Gobbler's Knob (10,246). It was an extremely hot day, and a long hike. They all took different routes up Mount Raymond, which led to some of them making it more quickly than others. Dan and James took the easiest way, while Matt took a harder way, and Keith took the hardest way. After lunch on the summit, they all headed over to Gobbler's Knob. For some reason, the summit had thousands of lady bugs on it.

James and Keith on the summit of Gobblers Knob | Keith, Matt, and Dan on the summit of Gobbler's Knob
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Red Pine Trip

Day 1

They decided it would be fun to go camping at Upper Red Pine Lake over a weekend. Both the peaks they wanted to do could be done in 1 day, or both in 1 day, but they wanted to take a trip. The plan was to hike up, and climb White Baldy (11,321), and then the next day, climb Pfeifferhorn (11,326). The hike up to Upper Red Pine Lake was easy and uneventful. After setting up camp, and lunch, they headed up to White Baldy. Corey wasn't feeling well, so Greg stayed in camp with him. The snow to the ridge was the best part of the climb, because at the ridge, there was no snow, just boulders. The only people to summit were James, Keith, Duane, Don S, and Dan. After returning to camp, Kevin had to go home, and took Corey with him, since he was sick.

The group on Red Pine Bridge | Greg F, Corey, Matt, and Don S on the hike up Red Pine
Lunch time at Upper Red Pine Lake | Keith in front of a huge overhanging rock
James and Duane on the ridge leading to White Baldy | The summit of White Baldy
Keith, Dan, and James on the summit of White Baldy | Duane and Keith on the summit of White Baldy
Keith sliding down White Baldy

Day 2

The next day, they left camp and headed for Pfeifferhorn. Getting to the summit was pretty easy, and fun. After going back down to camp, everybody headed home. On the way, down, Duane slipped, and fell. His sleeping bag came loose from his pack, and started rolling down the hill. Keith and James nearly died laughing, while watching Duane run down the hill and chase his sleeping bag. The rest of the hike down was easy, except when everybody got stuck behind a fat guy with only a disposable camera in one hand. The group was in full packs, and was stuck behind this guy. He finally moved out of the way on an uphill stretch, and they passed him.

Looking at the summit pyramid of Pfeifferhorn | Group on ridge below Pfeifferhorn | Dan on the summit of Pfeifferhorn
Looking towards Timp from Pfeifferhorn | Keith, Dan, Greg F, and Don S on the summit of the Pfeifferhorn
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Back To Day Hikes

The first day hike following the Red Pine Trip was up Pioneer Peak, Sunset Peak, and Mount Wolverine. James, Keith, Duane, and Dan went on this one. It was a relatively easy hike, execpt when Keith and Dan went one way, and James and Duane went another. James and Duane ended up downclimbing a big cliff above a lake near Brighton. Keith and Dan had to wait on a chair on the Crest Express lift for them to get to the bottom. Oops, forgot the camera!

A few days after Pioneer, Sunset, and Wolverine, James, Keith, Duane, and Matt hiked up to Maybird Gulch to climb Hogum Divide. The hike was easy and scenic. There was a big spire on the summit, so they all had to climb it to be on the real summit. They even got Keith to jump off of it.

Keith jumping off a boulder on the summit of Hogum Divide | Keith landing the jump
Looking at the Pfeifferhorn from Hogum Divide | Looking at the Hogum Headwall from Hogum Divide
Matt enjoying lunch near the summit | James near the summit
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Hogum Divide was the last peak they did before going to Ben Delatour, Colorado. While in Colorado, we all rock climbed, and did the COPE course. The people who went were: Keith, James, Jon, Chris, Duane, Matt, Dan, Greg P, Ryan, Richard, Isaac, Andrew, Dave, Corey, Don S, Don T, and Kevin. They did a little rock climbing there as well as the C.O.P.E. course.

Dan rappelling off of an overhang | Chris rappelling off of an overhang | The guys on the bus | A picture of the guys
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The first hike following summer camp was on North Flagstaff Peak (10,561). James, Duane, and Dan made good time to Flagstaff, and then just followed the ridge to the north summit. It was one of the most boring hikes yet, due to the heat, and scenery just being Snowbird and Alta.

Dan on the summit of Flagstaff Peak, just south of North Flagstaff Peak | Duane on the summit of North Flagstaff Peak

Right after Flagstaff, James, Keith, Dan, and Duane returned to climb Monte Cristo, near Alta. The hike was longer than thought, but it was still pretty easy. There were some mountain goats on Superior on the way up, which was cool.

Mountain goats just below the summit of Monte Cristo | James and Keith on the summit of Monte Cristo
Dan, Keith, and James on the summit of Monte Cristo

James, Keith, Duane, and Dan decided to climb a bunch of summits in one day. They started at the bottom of Alta, and climbed up Sugarloaf. From Sugarloaf, they headed up to Mount Baldy. At the summit, there was a antenna of some sort. The guys then descended from Baldy to Hidden Peak (10,992), which is the top of the Snowbird Tram, and ate lunch in the warming hut. After lunch, they hiked up to American Fork Twins, and Red Top. They didn't have the time to go to Red Baldy, since the car was back at Alta.

Keith and Dan on the Sugarloaf lift at Alta | The guys on the summit of Mount Baldy | American Fork Twin Peaks
Duane, Keith, and Dan on the summit of Red Top | Looking at White Pine Canyon and Pfeifferhorn from Red Top
Keith approaching the summit of American Fork Twins after doing Red Top

James, Keith, Matt, and Dan did Broads Fork Twins (11,330) on August 19th. It was one of the longer hikes they did, with a lot of vertical gain. On the summit, there is a perfect lounge chair, which Keith got, but James took when he got up. Dan wasn't feeling good once they got to the summit, so he took a nap. Matt and Keith traversed over to a snow slope on the descent, and had fun sliding down it. James stayed with Dan since he wasn't feeling good. They all got lost in heavy brush just above the pond, but found their way and made it home.

Keith, Dan, and Matt on the way up Broads Fork Twins

Another fun overnight hike was Dromedary. Duane and James camped overnight in the Lake Blanche Fork, intending to climb Dromedary and Unnamed (10,910). They climbed Dromedary, without a camera. It took so long to do Dromedary, that they barely made it into camp before sunset. Since they had no snacks for the summit, it is the hungriest James can ever remember being. The next day, they headed towards what they thought was Unnamed (10,910), but they ended up on Unnamed (11,033), which is near Sundial and Monte Cristo.

James on the summit of Unnamed 11,033 | Looking at the Little Cottonwood Ridge peaks from Unnamed 11,033
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Towards the end of summer, James, Matt, Dan, Greg F, Corey, Richard, and 2 other people from the scout troop, Ric and Jeff, wanted to rock climb on the troop backpacking trip in the Uintas. So, they hiked past where the rest of the troop was, and climbed some routes that looked cool, and had probably never been done, due to the easiness. One route was probably 5.4, and the other may have been 5.5. This is very easy, but still was a lot of fun to climb where nobody pobably ever bothered to. This picture is James and Matt at the top of one of the routes they did.

James and Matt in the Uintas | Ric, Dan, Jeff, and James in the Uintas
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In September, James and Matt went back to the Uintas with the scout troop. They climbed Mt. Baldy (11,948) the first day, and rock climbed on some cliffs the rest of the time. The routes were just topropes that they set, and were very easy (5.5), but it was still fun.

Looking south from the summit of Mount Baldy | Looking east from the summit of Mount Baldy
Looking southeast from the summit of Mount Baldy | Matt at the base of the climb we set up in the Uintas
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As the autumn began, and the snow began to fall, James and Dan wanted to get in one last climb. They decided to go up Bells Canyon to bag Rocky Mouth Canyon Peak, Bells Cleaver, and North and South Thunder Mountains. Unfortunately, because of the snow that only partially covered the boulders, they were only able to climb what they thought was Bells Cleaver. As it turns out, they just climbed a hight point where the South Thunder ridge meets the North Thunder ridge and Bells Cleaver Ridge. They were on a point just 20 minutes below South Thunder, and didn't know it.

Bells Reservoir and Lone Peak | Dan at the notch between Bells Canyon and Thunder Bowl
Dan on top of what we thought was Bells Cleaver | Looking down Bells Canyon from what we thought was Bells Cleaver
Looking at North Thunder Mountain from the Thunder Ridge | Dan in Thunder Bowl with Salt Lake City behind him
Looking at North Thunder from Thunder Bowl
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An October trip to Moab for mountain biking was a nice change of pace from the cold Uintas and Wasatch. James, Matt, Dan, Greg F, Corey, Kevin, and another guy from the troop, Greg D went on a 25 mile bike ride. They went to Gemini Bridges, and then around the area to get 25 miles. This gave Dan, Matt, and James the idea to do 6-25 milers and a 50 miler to get the Cycling badge. After a 25 miler in Moab on Saturday, Greg F, James, and Dan went to Deadhorse Point to watch the sun rise. They went on 5 more 25 milers throught October, November, and December of '98, and did a 50 miler in March of '99.

Greg D, Dan, Matt, Corey, and James at Gemini Bridges | Looking towards Moab | Deadhorse Point at sunrise
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Winter/Spring Mountaineering 1998-99