Sun Valley Summits for Peakbaggers

Even though Sun Valley is famous precisely for its location among the mountains, relatively few visitors actually make it onto any summits. During the summer, the town teems with tourists, the trails bustle with hikers and bikers, and dirt roads buzz with motorists. The high peaks, however, remain largely untouched. That is because they are very hard to get to.

Outside of Sun Valley, the roads are halted eventually by wilderness boundaries, but even the trails fail to reach most of the summits. They are simply too rugged and isolated––out of reach to all but the most determined foot travelers. You can expect the peaks to be void of paths except for goat trails and mere traces of human footsteps. Much of the way will be routefinding through trackless talus and ragged cliff bands, high above the timberline and far away from help.

So while there’s no such thing as a simple hike to any of these summits, the ones in this guidebook can still be accomplished without any specialized gear. In normal summer conditions, they are non-technical, albeit steep and challenging ascents. At the very least, they require the fitness to move quickly on 2nd class terrain and the experience to move safely through 3rd and possibly 4th class with fall exposure. The reward is to stand above a sea of mountains with no one else around. If this sounds like your kind of adventure, then consider attempting one of these peakbagging hikes near Sun Valley.