Route: Pioneer Trifecta (ID)

For those that are interested, some pre-history: I've done the "Triple Crown" 3 times, back in the late '90's/early 00's. I'd heard about "the triple" from SV locals Whit and Danny Albright, who linked the peaks with Jeremy Sherer, perhaps the first folks to do so. Rob Landis (at the time a recent winner of the Wasatch 100) and me did a counter-clockwise lap starting w Cobb, then I returned twice solo to suss the route try and knock off some time. Background: Rob and me were both serious xc racers in those years, both competed in NBC "Survival of the Fittest" and BBC's"Conquer the Arctic" and later did a 38 hr. run on the Idaho 12'ers.

We were gunning, but didn't record the times. Rob recalls our team effort being 7ish hours, and my faster solo at "just under 6 hrs". That fits my memory as well. My solo route was a not-fucking-around (clockwise) effort, following the more-solid, but more- technical rock on the West Ridge of Hyndman, then a sneaky snow line left and uphill from what is probably the "standard", wet chimney line on Old Hyndman. We (and I) stuck to the occasionally sketchy ridge between Old H and Cobb.

I've been asked about the route a number of times by kids I was coaching at SVSEF, but always discouraged them doing it due to loose rock hazard on the west side of Old H, and the Old H/Cobb ridge.

Enjoy the mountains, don't get killed!

Dave Bingham