TR: Seven Devils Mountains (a short jaunt)
This was by no means a significant trip but since there is precisely zero information about skiing in these mountains I thought I'd throw this up as beta.
The Seven Devils are a compact range which rises 8,000 vertical feet above the town of Riggins, Idaho. The tops of the peaks are on the edge of Hells Canyon National Recreation Area and are sandwiched between the Snake and the Salmon; the topography in this part of Idaho is hard to understand for me -- it's complex, and the 180 or so miles from Lolo Pass to Riggins has just a few miles of straight roads. Despite the vertical rise the range is almost impossible to see from anywhere in Idaho -- you get a few short glimpses from U.S. 95. The high terrain is peppered with lakes and one sizeable permanent snowfield.
Put in a decent day in the home office on Monday and left Missoula around 4. Gassed up in Lolo, made the crazy drive along the Clearwater, and got more gas in Grangeville. Riggins was busy with river traffic; found Seven Devils road and headed uphill. I had called the ranger in Riggins earlier in the day and got surprisingly accurate information; the road is 17.5 miles long and encounters snow at roughly mile 13. The road is ridiculously steep; the first 5 miles are paved.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1733/...71399f33_z.jpg20180604_200824 by redpinecanyon, on Flickr
Some people had driven through the snow but I did not feel like it. Backtracked to a flat spot, made dinner, and slept in the back of the truck.
Up at 5 to breaking fog. Making brekkie and a dapper-looking gentleman pulls up in a Nissan Murano; the looks at the snowbank and turns around. Load gear onto my bike and start pedaling. Besides snowdrifts the road is in nice shape and pedal 4 miles to Windy Gap in about 30 minutes.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1750/...0ee51722_z.jpg20180605_072110 by redpinecanyon, on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1721/...8f9bc80b_z.jpg20180605_074149 by redpinecanyon, on Flickr
No one has been up here in a while though an ATV could prolly make it.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1759/...b786b888_z.jpg20180605_080448 by redpinecanyon, on Flickr
Got decent cell and 4G up here and also radio stations from Boise (traffic this morning on 84).
Found much less snowcover than I had been expecting. Also found plenty of difficult terrain for skiing -- shallow basins backed by steep narrow lines, with little in between. Arrive at Seven Devils lake and find that navigating up and over the mountains toward Mirror Lake and to Sheep Lake is going to be more complex than I want to get into.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1731/...acdbd553_z.jpg20180605_110553 by redpinecanyon, on Flickr
Was prepared with crampons and ice axe but the narrow chute above was 3 feet wide and around 45 degrees -- to narrow for me to ski and too steep to feel comfortable downclimbing.
Hung out for a while and waited for the snow to soften.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1728/...9384cda9_z.jpg20180605_091539 by redpinecanyon, on Flickr
Look back toward Windy Gap.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1753/...3532b622_z.jpg20180605_105928 by redpinecanyon, on Flickr
That's it -- nothing massive. Cool range but tricky skiing.
