Bockman Peak
Joas Miller, Michael Yoder and Joseph Miller (from left) pause for a photo at the top of Bockman Peak.
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One Day, Four Peaks
Climbers tackle Cabinets in record time
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
September 23, 2009
Three Libby mountaineers have set what they think could be a new record for scaling four of the highest peaks in the Cabinets.
Setting out from their truck at 5:35 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12, at an elevation of 3,500 feet, Joas Miller, his nephew Joseph Miller and his cousin Michael Yoder made the summits of Big Loaf Mountain, Bockman Peak, Snowshoe Peak and A Peak and were back to the truck by way of Granite Lake at 8:31 p.m. for a total round-trip time of 14 hours, 56 minutes.
"Nobody knows of anybody that’s done it before," said Joas Miller, an avid climber who serves as mountain team leader for David Thompson Search and Rescue. "I’d be curious to know if anybody has."
Miller said he’s heard of Bockman, Snowshoe and A Peak – the three highest points in the Cabinet Mountains – being climbed in 13 hours, but that time doesn’t include the addition of Big Loaf.
The trio covered 16 horizontal miles as measured by GPS. Miller estimates the total mileage to be around 19 to 20 miles when elevation changes are factored in.
"We didn’t know what it was going to be like, so we started early and hiked it hard," Miller said.
The climbers reached the top of Big Loaf, measured by GPS at 7,574 feet, at 8:41 a.m. Picking their route as they went along, they made the top of Bockman, at 8,174 feet, at 10:07, hit the summit of Snowshoe, at 8,733 feet, at 12:23 p.m., and were on top of A Peak, at 8,637 feet, at 2:23. They had come down to Granite Lake by 5:59 p.m.
Miller said his nephew and cousin set the pace.
"I was the one who had to work hard to keep up with them," he said. "They’ve both got long legs and are pretty fast."
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Editor’s Note: See the September 22, 2009 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Tuesdays, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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