Brundage Mountain SOTA brings the thought of riding a chair lift at the ski resort to the summit. In actuality, the true summit is a mile north of the ski resort are requires a bushwhack for most of the 4 mile round trip. The views from the summit mostly make up for bushwhack and somewhat dangerous final ascent to the summit.
Winter activation of a "standard Idaho 2-pointer" (read: barely achievable especially during winter!). I took advantage of a newly activated holiday at work (President's day) to activate the closest summit to Boise. I went up the standard "hiking" summer route. The round trip on foot is 11.5 miles and 3000 ft vertical. The summer "4x4 drive-up" route is gated closed Nov-April and is currently under a bunch of snow.
Peak 5580 is in a cluster of 2-pointers east of Mountain Home Idaho on the north side of Hwy 20. They lie about 1.5 hours from Boise so it makes for a nice trip to knock off a few summits. These summits are generally considered the most achievable around Boise even know it takes a short drive to get there. Other summits in the area require off road driving or longer hikes. Some of the peaks in the cluster are available for year round access (SR-130 being the best), but Peak 5580 is a ways off the highway. In the winter the road is not maintained and could be sn
Good parking along the road in a pullout (during winter). Note for winter ascents, stay left of the track at the bottom so you keep high. Do not go right into the quarry as you will need to climb out. We had to snowshoe up mud! We stayed high on the descent. On your climb up, work your way to the left hand summit ridge. No trail and steep, but doable. Metal posts at the top to strap antenna to. Great views
In the summer you may be able to drive into the gravel quarry and take other ridgelines.
This is becoming a popular summit and may be one of the most accessable summits in the Boise area. This is about an hour drive from Boise however. The parking is always good as they plow the side road next to Little Camas Reservoir. Snowmobile activity is present in the winter and also park along the road. The snowmobile tracks can help with a winter track up the lower slopes.
In the summer, this track (below) can be used, but a shorter/direct route can be found if you park in a pull-out SW of the summit on Hwy20.
Peak 5740 is one of the handful along the north side of Hwy 20 - west of Mtn Home Idaho. Although, there was deep snow, this turned out to be a good winter bonus point summit.
Naomi Peak is a great hike along a well-marked trail from the Tony Grove Lake area. Tony Grove is a popular site seeing destination 28 miles NE of Logan Utah. The summit has views in all direction and is highly recommended as a day hike or a SOTA adventure.
Peak 7384 is the next SOTA Peak to the north of Granite Mountain W7I/SR-138. It is bushwhacking at its finest with endless deadfall on the main portion of the mountain. Limited views from the summit make this peak not the most enjoyable, but it is SOTA nonetheless and that is always good!
This peak is about 12 miles NW of McCall Idaho. There is no trail to the summit, but it is an easy bushwhack. To get to the "trailhead" take Hwy 55 north out of McCall and take the Brundage Ski area turn off a few miles north of town. Follow this road to the Brundage Ski area, but instead of turning into the ski area parking lot remain on Goose Lake Rd.
This was my second activation of Kepros. This is a long hike where you just need to keep going... When it seems like you should be at the summit, it is still way off in the distance. When you finally get to the base of the actual mountain, you have gone 4 miles, gained a bunch of elevation, but had just descended to almost the elevation of the car! The final push to the summit is steep, but you are on a double track. A set of hiking poles may expedite the steeper sections.