mountaineers route - 5.9 popular

Seconded this route with Erik Leidecker, one of the partners from Sawtooth Mountain Guides. Took the 7am ferry across Redfish Lake, reaching the base of Elephant's Perch by 9:30 after covering about four miles and gaining 1800 ft of elevation. Crossing the stream to get to the base was the scariest part of the day, because the bridge had been washed away! We crossed on 6" diameter poles that flexed beneath our weight.

I particularly remember the view from the second belay station. The exposure was phenomenal, and the view of the Chipmunks's Perch behind us was breathtaking. We were also out of range of those pesky mosquitos!

Erik did a fantastic job of leading the route in his approach shoes. His demeanor inspires confidence, and I'd highly recommend using him as a guide. The only place that I though was a little run-out was climbing the face to the left of the diamond. Otherwise, the route protected nicely.

We topped out at about 2pm, and then the weather started changing. Rather than scrambling to the summit, we took the "Northwest Passage" descent route through a snowfield.