Bighorn Crags/Litner Group of Peaks Rock Climbing

This is what the Litner Group peaks beyond Ship Island Lake in the Bighorn Crags are like to climb. The routes, tantalizingly hard to get to, reach up long and steep aretes, faces and cracks towards summits that until recently don't have names, have seldom been touched by climbers (unless the Sheepeater/Shoshone peoples liked steep rock climbing), and are for the most part made of solid Idaho Batholith granite. Dozens, if not hundreds, of grade III, IV and even grade V climbs await first ascents. In 2020 I organized the first (to my knowledge) substantial climbing expedition beyond Ship Island Lake since in 1955 Lincoln Hale and Pete Schoening pioneered one route at the west end of the lake up the tallest peak to the north above camp.

For a detailed description of our trip, with routes described and a few pictures, see my Idaho - A Climbing Guide article on Tom Lopez's excellent website.