Trip Report
Often people ask me how I choose what peak to climb next, especially after I have climbed so many already. Normally the answer is that I search pretty hard because ideas are limited (especially in the winter). However, in this case, I was sort of confused about why I hadn't picked Elba BM (aka as Elba Peak and Jim Sage highpoint) sooner. It is only about an hour from Twin Falls, where I spend holidays. It has over 2,000 feet of prominence (#61 on the Idaho P2K list). It is a range highpoint (highpoint of the Jim Sage range). So when I was searching for a peak to do while in Twin Falls for Thanksgiving and stumbled upon Elba Peak, it was a no-brainer decision.
On "Black Friday", I headed out to the Albion area to approach the peak from the west side. I followed some directions I had read online. When I reached the turn-off, I encountered a locked gate. As I drove further south, I encountered nothing but more locked gates with no trespassing signs. Having read some trip reports in the past, I remembered Zach having done the peak from the east side via Kane Canyon. So I headed around the mountain to the east side. Not having a map for this approach, I decided to download a GPS navigation application onto my phone. I quickly found a free application. I downloaded it and figured it out rather quickly. Once running, I used the app to find a road that led to Kane Canyon. Success! I then just followed the highway south of Malta until my location indicator intersected that road. Turns out it was signed anyway.
I followed the road up Kane Canyon to 6000'. It is a nice gravel road for most of the way, but the last 2 miles might keep your sedan out. I probably could have made it further than 6000', but the road seemed to get more narrow and not have any turn-arounds ahead. Plus it was a bit soft and I figured I had pushed my luck enough.
Armed with my "GPS", I headed up the canyon. I guessed from just looking at the ridgeline that the peak was just south of Kane Canyon. My GPS indicated this as well, so when I reached 7,000 feet in the canyon, I turned southwest and started up a steep slope. After about 500 feet of gain, I was in a great position just below the summit and getting great views of the Raft River Valley and Jim Sage range. I then turned due south and climbed the last 500 feet in snow. The snow wasn't too deep, maybe 6 inches with a 12 inch drift in a few spots. I topped out in a little less than 2 hours.
The weather was great. There was a slight wind on top, clear skies, and a temperature right around 32 degrees. I took in the great views of the Snake River Plain with the snow-capped Pioneer Mountains to the north. The Albion range looked spectacular to my west. To the south, I could pick out Bull Mountain, which I had climbed the previous year. To the east was the Raft River Valley with the Black Pine mountains beyond it.
I then headed back down via a slightly different route, making for a nice loop. I was back down in exactly 1 hour, making it a 3 hour trip to the minute. I enjoyed the warm, clear skies a bit longer before heading back to town. A very very nice day in the mountains, especially considering it was late November!
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