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
Here's a long snowshoe in winter - 7 miles round trip and 800 feet elevation gain. The lookout is rented in the winter, so be sure no one is there if you climb up the stairs to take advantage of the additional height.
Hurricane Hill is the high point of Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park. It's a fairly easy hike in the summer season, and quite a ways farther in the winter on snowshoes. The summer hike is about 3.0 miles round trip, while in winter it will be closer to 5.6 miles. Although the net elevation gain is about 500 feet, you'll be going up and down along the ridge for more elevation gain, especially in winter.
In the remote corner of the remote corner of Northeast Oregon are the Wallowa Mountains. On the eastern edge of the state, looking down into the Snake River Canyon is Hat Point, a drive-up six-point summit.
Head east on 350 from Joseph, Oregon 30 miles to Imnaha. From there, you'll take Hat Point Road another 10 miles to the lookout and summit of Hat Point. This gravel road is steep in places, and narrow, but can be driven in a passenger car.
Here's a drive-up summit with a fire lookout (one you can rend) in Eastern Oregon. You might spring for a lookout reservation and enjoy being chased all day long - but you can also stay below te lookout on the road and let the occupants enjoy their solitude while you activate this peak.
Here's an easy road walk in Eastern Oregon of about 2.1 miles round trip and 400 feet of gain. Interestingly, there's only one "Lake Butte" in Oregon - and there's no lake near it.
Here for some activation fun west of Trout Lake, Washington is Peak 4420 or Monte Cristo Range High Point. It's a bit out of the way, but is a near drive-up four pointer accessed by a road that a passenger car can handle.
Needless to say, a GPS is a good help for finding this summit. There are other roads leading there, but the directions below are for a gravel road in good condition.
After my first activation on Black Mountain VE7/GV-013 a week ago, I wanted another activation before the rain season starts. I chose Hollyburn Mountain VE7/GV-011 because it seemed just a little more difficult than GV-013. An extra 100m gain shouldn't be too much, right?
My first SOTA activity was activating VE7/GV-013 on a sunny day in October. I find this mountain a great place for local hams to experience SOTA for the first time.
VE7/GV-013, Black Mountain is located in Cypress Provincial Park, just half an hour drive from Vancouver. Parking at Lot 1 of Cypress Mountain Ski Resort is free and it is mostly empty in the morning, as long as it's not ski season.