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.”
