“Idiot Peak” in Alaska

“Idiot Peak” in the Alaska Range.Photos courtesy of Will Mayo.

Chris Thomas and Will Mayo made the first ascent of the 10,700-foot subpeak to the right of Mount Huntington’s southwestern face. The two approached the peak by climbing to 10,000 feet on the Harvard Route on Huntington, then traversing down below the Phantom Wall. Their route followed a hazardous rocky gully to a full-pitch ice traverse and then a beautiful ice gully to the top. They reversed the line in descent and returned to basecamp after a 23-hour roundtrip. They called the mountain Idiot Peak, lampooning themselves for taking on an “insignificant” peak with such significant dangers from rockfall.Mayo also soloed a striking ice couloir on the North Face of Peak 11,520, which sits between Huntington and Mount Hunter, climbing the 2,800-vertical-foot face in five hours. The couloir was dubbed The Shining for its brilliant ice.

The Shining on Peak 11,520Photos courtesy of Will Mayo.