If I were to take a beginning peakbagger on their first foray to an Idaho twelver, I would pick 12,120 foot Mount Breitenbach.  By the standards of its fellow 12,000 footers, Breitenbach is a pussycat - at least if one takes the south ridge route.  Breitenbach features a 3,000 foot north face - probably the tallest face of any mountain in Idaho.  This peak is named for Idaho native Jake Breitenbach, who perished in the infamous Khumbu Icefall on Mount Everest in 1963.

Mount Breitenbach might be easy to climb, but the drive is brutal.  The convoluted road network that runs through the rangelands west of the Lost River Range is rugged and steep, requiring a high-clearance 4 wheel drive vehicle and some serious navigational skills.  My pickup was covered with dust and a fresh set of brush scratches by the time I reached road's end the evening before the climb.  After a quiet night camping at the trailhead (I was the only one there), I set out for the summit.  The hardest part of the hike was at the beginning, as the route follows the rocky and deadfall-strewn bed of Pete Creek.  Unusually for the arid Lost Rivers, there were numerous springs that were flowing even now, as summer winds to a close.  I heard a bull elk bugling as I ascended - a harbinger of autumn.

Most of the rest of the climb is on stable talus and scree, with a bit of a knife-edge ridge approaching the summit, but nothing too scary.  Like most peaks in the Lost Rivers, Breitenbach is rated Class III, but it barely qualifies.  Good cardiovascular fitness is the only requirement - acrophobes rejoice!

A round of thunderstorms had rolled through southern Idaho the night before, and that meant the view from the summit was hindered by smoke from fresh wildfires.  Still, Breitenbach has what many people say is the best view in the Lost Rivers, as it is ideally placed on the flank of the climactic crest of the range.  It is always gratifying to be able to point out summits that I have stood on during past climbs.  I sometimes find it a little unbelievable that I have gotten into peakbagging, and have summited peaks in every month of the year - time was, I could barely tolerate a ladder, let alone a frozen behemoth in the darkest heart of January.  

There is nothing in this world that has held my interest and sparked my passion quite like mountains.  I barely have scored another new peak when I start asking myself what sort of adventure the next one will offer.  Like dear friends, I cannot imagine life without them.