Sawtooth Daydream

Joe and I were halfway through an extended road trip, summer 2001, and we had just arrived in the Sawtooth Mountains of central Idaho. Our intention was to live out of my van for two months, as we had the two previous summers, climbing everything we could get our hands on. It was not to be.

Our approach to the peaks began with a boat ride the length of Redfish Lake, which takes its name from the sockeye salmon that once spawned here, but no longer do because of dams on the Columbia River.

The boat lurched, and I clutched my oversized pack. The hippie boat captain gleefully throttled the boat forward, grinning with the speed. As the wind whipped around us, I lost myself in the spray of the wake.

Local friends had warned us that Sawtooth rock is beautiful but often dangerously loose. No fixed anchors are permitted in this designated wilderness. Even the solid rock requires heads-up climbing. The gem of the area is Elephant’s Perch, a 1,000-foot dome of golden-red granite that seems plucked right out of the Sierra. We were headed there.

Joe was leading pitch three of Astro Elephant (5.10-), a fun and wandering 10-pitch route on the Perch, when two female climbers started up below us. Never without my camera, I shouted down to the very competent-looking leader and asked if they minded my shooting photos of them as they climbed up. The quality of my climbing suffered from this plan. I did the pitches as quickly as I could, not for the sake of alpine efficiency, but so I could get to the next belay and shoot. Once I had the camera in my hands, I slapped on the belay device and paid just enough attention to the rope that was leading out above me to keep my partner safe. I’d occasionally ask Joe if he was at a good spot to stop, so I could shoot without worrying about the belay. He would look down with steely eyes, pause, and say nothing. We both knew it was BS to pull this stunt on our climb, but he also knew about my artistic affliction. It became obvious that I cared less about our partnership than about capturing the graceful team below.