Idaho
Rigby man just finished a 3-year journey climbing all of Idaho's 11,000-foot mountain peaks – East Idaho News
RIGBY – On Thursday, Jason Lee became the 15th person to summit all 115 of the Gem State’s 11,000-foot mountain peaks.
The 50-year-old Rigby man finished a three-year journey when he reached the top of Roaring Peak, which stands at 11,460 feet in the Boulder Mountain range.
Dave Pahlas, an avid hiker, has kept a running list of people who’ve accomplished this feat over the years on his website and Lee is thrilled to be numbered among them.
“It took me exactly three years, three months and 15 days. I may be close to the fastest, but I’m not sure,” Lee tells EastIdahoNews.com. “I ended up finishing the last 48 (summits) this spring and summer. I hit it pretty hard this year.”
Idaho’s mountains that surpass 11,000 feet are confined within seven mountain ranges in the central and eastern part of the state, according to Lee. Those mountain ranges include the White Cloud, Boulder, Pioneer, White Knob, Lost River, Lemhi and Beaverhead Mountains.
George Reinier and John Roache were the first Idaho 11ers, according to the list on Pahlas’ website. It happened in 2012 with their final summit of The Brow, an 11,005-footer north of Diamond Peak on the main Lemhi crest. Idaho Climbing Guide reports The Brow is “the lowest of Idaho’s 11ers.”
In 2020, Lee climbed all nine of the state’s 12,000 foot peaks, including Idaho’s tallest mountain peak, Mt. Borah. The 12,662-foot bluff is in the Lost River Range near Challis. This accomplishment made him hungry for another adventure, which led him to the 11ers.
“They turned out to be a lot more exciting because nobody goes there,” Lee explains. “There’s no trails on the top of those. It’s a lot of bush-whacking and research to even get to some of these.”
The Idaho 12ers, however, are popular destinations for hikers and are well-traveled.
This all started four years ago when Lee retired from a 24-year stint in the U.S. Navy. He had done a little bit of hiking where he was stationed in Upstate New York. After moving back to Idaho, a friend invited Lee to hike Mt. Borah with him.
To prepare, they climbed Table Mountain in Wyoming. He summited that in July 2020 before hiking Mt. Borah.
“That’s what kicked off the mountain climbing (journey),” says Lee.
Lee often ran in the Navy, and he’s enjoyed hiking as an alternative to staying in shape during retirement.
The best part of this experience, Lee says, is inspiring other mountaineers to do the same thing.
“Only 15 people have done it, so I want more people to do it,” he says. “I want to pass on the knowledge (I’ve gained) because I’m not going to be able to do this forever. And second, I get them out into the woods with me so I have someone to do it with.”
He’s gained quite a following over the last several years and even has a Facebook group called Team 11ers.
Lee’s next goal is to repeat his first five 11,000 foot summits so his finish time is faster.
“When I first started, I wasn’t very quick. I wasn’t as serious about it until I got into my second year,” Lee says. “I want to get my finish time under three years.”
He’s planning to do that before June 2025.
He also wants to summit all of Idaho’s 10,000 foot peaks, as well as climb the highest points in every Idaho county.
“If it wasn’t for the mountaineering pioneers that went before me, none of this would’ve been possible. I couldn’t have done it without my crew that went along with me,” says Lee. “I give them a lot of credit because it made my experience a lot easier.”
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PAYETTE — A Payette mom’s bond was revoked Tuesday after she was charged with suffocating her twin children earlier this month and is believed to pose a danger to the life of her newborn child.
The case, which has drawn national headlines, concerns Andrea Renee Shaw, a 23-year-old Payette mother who in May 2025 said her 18-month-old fraternal twins died the same day, after receiving routine childhood vaccinations. In January, Shaw joined as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed by Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with several other plaintiffs claiming vaccine injury or death.
Kennedy, who now serves as secretary of Health and Human Services, is no longer part of the group after taking on the cabinet position, as was reported by the Associated Press.
In Idaho, the twins’ deaths prompted a 14-month investigation by the Payette County Sheriff’s Department. On June 29, the investigation yielded a grand jury indictment of Shaw on two counts of first-degree murder by suffocation. If convicted, Shaw can be punished by up to life in prison or the death penalty, and the court would have the ability to order the penalties be served consecutively, or back to back.
Tuesday’s arraignment at the Payette County Courthouse was primarily attended by Shaw’s relatives and members of the media. Payette County Judge Kiley Stuchlik, who serves Idaho’s Third Judicial District, presided.
A key consideration for Stuchlik on Tuesday was a request from Joseph Filicetti, the legal counsel for Shaw, to have her bond reduced from $2 million to $100,000. Filicetti said this would allow for Shaw to care for a newborn girl, who, according to court documents, was born by caesarean section on June 25, four days prior to Shaw’s grand jury indictment.
State prosecutors objected to the motion for bond reduction, noting at hand was a potential death penalty case and asserting, unlike her husband, Shaw’s story repeatedly changed during questioning. Prosecuting Attorney Mike Duke said releasing Shaw would ultimately put the newborn’s safety at risk.
“That child is the most at risk. We do not think she should be allowed to be anywhere near any children, let alone her own children,” Duke said.
Stuchlik decided to revoke bond entirely, stating Shaw posed a “risk of safety” to the newborn child that was not known to Stuchlik or prosecutors when the $2 million bond was initially set.
Also for consideration Tuesday was a request to have grand jury transcripts of witness testimony provided to prosecutors and defense counsel to prepare their respective cases.
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