Whites Mountain to Koch Mountain, Bitterroots: An Exercise in Brutality

Matt and Orion on Koch Mountain after following the ridge from Whites Mountain, the second peak in the distance.

Matt Roscoe and I have been getting out for a big mountain day every summer. As Matt says, "I like to run the tank to zero now and again." This summer, I proposed a climb of Whites Mountain, then a walk east along the ridge to Koch Mountain, with a summit of 'East Whites Mountain' along the way. Matt invited our friend Orion Berryman, who is a UM Professor of Chemistry and a competitive local cyclist/nordic skier. We left Missoula on the day before, driving up Lost Horse Road, and camping at Twin Lakes, near the Idaho border. It was interesting people watching in the campground: a movie projected onto a big screen, Dixie flags on a side-by-side, and a late night pop song sing-a-long. Camping at it's best!

We got started the next morning at the Bear Creek Pass Trailhead at 6:30am, walked in to Fish Lake, made our way on a fisherman's trail to Hackney Lake, and then on up to the summit of Whites Mountain, which we reached at 11:30am. Already 5 hours and 8 miles in, and looking at the long, brutal route over to Koch, we all gulped, contemplated turning around, but then plunged ahead. East Whites came quickly an hour later, but then the walk over the Koch was tricky, slow and extremely rugged. After a swim in the tarn southwest of Koch, we summited Koch at around 3:30pm. The walk out was uneventful but long, and we reached the car at the other end at 7:30pm, 13 hours and 20 miles later.

Despite the brutality of the day, it was awesome to spend time in such a remarkable place with friends.