Borah Peak: Climbing the East Face of Idaho’s Tallest Mountain

[@travisfyne9316]

Time to rename the channel. Nothing mediocre or amateur about traveling to the trail head in a chopper, lol.

[@ColdPlungeCam]

Travis Fyne 🤣

[@feedfacedeadbeef]

These guys are absolutely mediocre amateurs. Even in this video they didn't bring climbing helmets (they should have). I have enjoyed and watched several of their videos, and they perform too much like amateurs. I would say they've been lucky with regard to some risks. And if I ever am in a peaceful area and a helicopter comes flying in, I'm gonna get pissed. Their footage on Mt. Adams was spectacular, but they were not supposed to use a drone in a Wilderness Area! Those things are really noisy and disturb the peace for the residents and us visitors alike. They all need to get more serious and respectful out there.

[@don-qh7fx]

Tee Vee this comment is nonsense. You go climb 9+ 10k’s, and being pissed over a helicopter? You’ve never been in the national forests where’s fire and rescues helicopters do regular routes. Also u think a “visitor” will hear that drone? They’re on top of a damn mountain.

[@elpowderman]

Tee Vee you’re absolutely right. The only thing worse than those dayglo suits is the effing helicopter. Gross, guys. What were you thinking?

[@1Deejay7]

So who's the pilot out of the bunch?

[@medicinegone]

I watched a Mediocre Amateur video for the first time about a week ago. I've now watched...20? More? and subscribed. And they suddenly seem to be the only thing I'm interested in watching. Nice work.

[@n8032]

I just found them two days ago and have binged probably 85 percent of their content. so awesome

[@ninetyfaith8830]

Very True

[@miketaylor6700]

Danny... don’t tell Matt, but it cracks me up that he can fly a helicopter and then struggle to set up a tent! lol 😂

[@jaredmende3641]

These Videos are all I watch . Just hiking trails is one thing, But these Are all way beyond that! Excellent footage!

[@TheMountainMatt]

Jared Mende exactly!

[@D_Allsen]

Can't understand how there aren't more of us subscribing to your channel man! Content is on point, I'm hooked!

[@MediocreAmateur]

Thanks! We're terrible self promoters.

[@kenwbrenner]

Hi Danny. I really enjoy your videos. I admire your physical abilities to run and free climb as you do. Your photography cannot be beat. Most of all, I find your commentary refreshing, kind, and easy to listen to. I pray you will be blessed with safety as you continue this work. As for Borah Peak, I was concerned the whole time about one of you falling due to the loose rock. I hope your future trips are on much safer ground. God Bless!

[@graysonridge4080]

Duuuuudes this is ridic! This mountain has been in need of some quality footage. Editing is phenomenal, well done!

[@MediocreAmateur]

Thank you.

[@beetroot48]

These guys never cease to amaze me. They make scary climbs look like a walk in the park. If this is mediocre amateur climbing I’m thinking professionals must levitate.

[@BenjoC8632]

@@beetroot48 no doubt! It really puzzles me that these cats don’t have more subscribers.

[@cq7415]

Short but interesting. Helicopter at base camp, drone footage climbing, nice photography. Thanks for sharing.

[@nealfry2230]

I've Always Loved Grizzly Adam's.

[@turnnburn9008]

so siiick guys, I climbed Borah last year, but you guys destroyed my accomplishment, thx

[@elevationwithginahikingpnw]

I am looking forward to the standard route within the next few weeks, thank you for the footage!

[@Tragicdepth]

I love these videos. They are just so great. Gives me the willies though..

[@Devan-he4kr]

I love your videos because your honest about how difficult everything is. I want to climb these mountains, but they seem to intimidating.

[@dalezjc]

Wow. The hair was standing up on my arms watching the ascent as you were getting close to the summit. Excellent job guys!

[@kenwbrenner]

Hi. Very impressed with what you accomplished - the conditions were definitely "dirty" and loose! Enjoy your channel and movies - look forward to seeing more. You do a great job in filming and narrating (and post-production work). As info, I'm a senior, and the most challenging things I do at this point in my life is attempting to hike the entire Appalachian Trail in sections. Hope you are blessed with safety and success. God Bless...

[@638Benj]

My favorite channel you guys rock !!

[@trentonlee372]

I love everyone trashing these guys in the comments for using the heli. Most of us would start at the trailhead at 7500 ft, hike/climb to where they landed at 10,000 ft, look up at their route and say "F that, I don't want to die". So in the end we would have done around 2500 ft of climbing too. The only difference is they got to the top and we pussed out.

[@victor.randolph]

“Hey Matt, are you going to be wearing your blue pants? Good. Make sure the new guy packs his too.”

[@MediocreAmateur]

I write in the text messages to these guys "wear clothing that can be seen" they show up in their skittle clothing. It's perfect.

[@akusantafe]

Magnificent route in a magnificent setting.

[@Mags120fish1]

Very dirty indeed! Nice work making it the top. You guys amaze me.

[@harrisonaero]

Dude, you're loving having the heli access. Can't wait to see what you do with skiing this winter. You guys seriously have the most under-rated outdoor adventure channel on YT. Amazed you're not going viral on about every one of these since they just keep getting better- nice job! And also consider taking it up a notch and making a film for submission the the Banff Mtn Film Festival.

[@kodycoggin]

yes please submit a video to that festival or Telluride film festival.. y’all should be viral. These are way better then the “beat Monday” series @outdoortv

[@MediocreAmateur]

I'm going to admit you did get me thinking about how to make a video that is Banff quality.

[@MediocreAmateur]

Telluride might be a good venue as well. Now I just need to put together a banff or telluride worthy adventure and story.

[@harrisonaero]

@@MediocreAmateur I've been watching BMFF videos for decades.... you can do it, you have all the basics. :)

[@duncare3601]

If you guys decide to submit a video to a festival your current way of doing things is actually pretty close to perfect. You chose a mountain with exposure, soaring vistas well above tree line so the distances look great, and climbed it via a non standard route. It's not the routes that everyone does that are interesting; it's the routes that are seldom traveled, even if they are on a well traveled mountain. Skittle color clothing and great weather complete this eye popping video.

[@michaelfitzgerald434]

You guys sure climb some gnarly, sketchy stuff!

[@evanenzer]

Honestly incredible shots.

[@kevenquinlan]

Yeah, from a distance is kind of meaningless. You have to be somewhat close to see perspective correctly. I hiked Sunrise in Vegas- thought I couldn't summit the very last 25 feet, as it looked like a vertical shaft straight up, so went down. It bothered me so much that I didn't summit that I went back a week later, got to the base of what I thought was a tube outcropping, and it had an easy switch on it I climbed up. I never do that now, I go until I can't but it helps to keep in mind that most stuff looks vert from a distance.

[@kylesnavely6165]

OK now I've seen a few videos. CRAZY, stay safe guys.

[@SolaceEasy]

Uh yeah, I'd be wearing my helmet around you guys.

[@jonfrank2849]

Words cannot describe how much I would be terrified. Nope nope nope.

[@thebucketlist5061]

Idk some of that still looks like a lower class 5 rather than class 4 climb

[@robbhays8077]

That's definitely a lot of low class 5. I would never do something like that without ropes. It's easy, sure, but the cost of making a mistake is very high.

[@recurrenTopology]

I don't see any of what I'd call class 5, but the boundary can be rather blurry, especially with the exposure upping the pucker factor. Generally I would not consider it class 5 until I start to need to preform crag climbing techniques with my feet and or hands, e.g. edging, stemming, crimping, smearing, jamming, etc. These moves benefit greatly from the use of climbing shoes. On this climb you can see that all the foot holds are large steps which can be done just as well in none technical boots, and the hand holds are simple jugs, so to me this is solidly below class 5. That being said, a rope and certainly helmets (!) could be a good idea in some sections given the exposure.

[@thebucketlist5061]

@@recurrenTopology nah. 5.1 is always a almoat no roper for me. 5.4 and up is where technique comes in.

[@gaylemesser136]

I always found that it was easier to go up a mountain than down. Watching you guys do the airy parts can give me the Willie's just like I was there with you. I was wondering, have you guys done the Pikes Peak Heart Attack? If my memory serves me correctly, it is a 15 mile run over the Burr Trail. I have never done it myself. The record time has stood up for over 30 years, and I believe it is somewhere around 2 and one half hours. Also I don't know if it's one way 15 miles, or if it's up and back down for a total of 30 miles. Check it out. I believe it's run over the Labor Day weekend. I enjoy watching your climbs. Take care folks. Vaughn

[@dez410]

Haha Matt Galland? You escaped Utah?? Welcome to Idaho man, we got some good mountains over here! Those Lost River Range Mountains can be deceiving, it's crazy! But man are they fun to climb!

[@BS2Dos]

Quality ascent and great footage.

[@jimvick8397]

If it's a -40 feathered friends bag you won't roast, you will just be at a nice equilibrium floating on 900 fill down... I tested my snowy owl (-60) sleeping in doors at 65 degrees, didnt break a drop of sweat...

[@buddyrupp6235]

I had several queasy moments just watching this!

[@EduSanjuan777]

Triple WOW for the camping site

[@mikemcintosh9933]

That looks very stimulating. Whew!

[@IdRatherBeHiking]

The drone following the helicopter.. unreal...

[@andrewmitchell5807]

How tf did you get a drone shot while in the heli???

[@leswoodburn5764]

As I understand it that mountain was millions and millions of years ago the west coast of what is now the USA. So those rocks were under the sea and now way up in the sky. Great vid and thanks.

[@georgesheffield1580]

Yes you are more or less correct , islands move across the ocean and collided with the land

[@thog1234]

I love the classic MA soundtrack

[@dwaynethecockjohnson8454]

do you know what song that is?

[@onkelsort5381]

Wow, glad I found your channel, these videos are pretty fantastic so far! I was wondering where you got your Swix hat in the latter videos, then I scrolled down your playlist and discovered you have been to Norway. Guess that might solve the mystery 🎩 ! Take care.

[@coreygraybz]

I'm scared enough to try the vanilla route let alone this lol. Hopefully next year i'll be in good enough shape to attempt this amazing mountain.

[@chronicstar]

Always curious why hostess treats are youre go to? 😂

[@josearteaga9667]

I'm so happy my mans climbed Everest hope he does k2 been binge watching the a few weeks since i ran into his white mountain video

[@thedavidlynch]

The dead pixel in your tent shots made me think my monitor was broken! @1:27

[@JONBOYLEMON]

Nope, Class 4 cakewalk.... Made me pucker at my desk!

[@MediocreAmateur]

I'm the farthest from an expert when it comes to class ratings. When I'm planning my routes I usually call up Aaron and have him remind me what the classifications mean in the real world. I then promptly forget what he told me.

[@christinerolle3876]

Its addicting watching you guys.i'm suppose to get some sleep.i work nights. You are superb.!!i want to fly that chopper!!😜

[@MrChileung]

Would be great to also know how to descend this kind of slope,

[@Idisagreethisisnotanon]

Epic bruh sound effect moment #8 BORAH

[@MrHardPressed]

I like the use of the drone. Very well done.

[@brianharder7714]

Heli approach? Shit, you missed out on a bunch of hours of heavy packs and serious shwacking!

[@MediocreAmateur]

I'll really miss those hours.

[@stephenverchinski409]

Real mountaineers ditch the helis.

[@jackalope30]

you guys should hit this in the winter and do the "conventional" southwest approach across chicken out ridge

[@mtnrunner2]

Those are some rugged mountains. The actual solid rock sections looked fun, but the rest...yikes.

[@calebcrandall1708]

Best video yet. Keep up the good work, but don't die please

[@MediocreAmateur]

Thanks! We definitely try our hardest not to die.

[@georgesheffield1580]

Your missing the fun of packing in before the climb ,and the drive to there .

[@saltydog6241]

Beautiful footage and editing. You have more nerve than I do!

[@kaywkh]

any recommendations for your bag and shoes?

[@Judd97]

So on a scale from 1-10 how much zing do you have the following day when eating Zingers the night before a big climb? Great vid. I remember seeing Borah Peak's east face and thinking "yeah, no thanks" when I was up there a couple years ago.

[@cnuila]

Rusty Cranium Productions Solid 9.5. Danny swears by McGriddles but I find the best power-up is any Hostess delicacy. Sugar rush for hours.

[@Judd97]

@@cnuila I love mcgriddles, but my Hostess treat of choice is definitely the ho-ho.

[@TVinmyEye]

Soo fkn gnarly! Literally you guys are rock stars, ba dum tssssssh

[@MediocreAmateur]

Thanks!

[@jasoneddie3921]

I have been on the trail to Bora peak it was a good one

[@brandynking8480]

Not only no but hell no. Pretty cool though. On my list of Mountains to climb. What happened to 100 miles from nowhere?

[@AceHess]

“The whole purpose of planning something like Everest (or Borah) is to effect some sort of spiritual and physical gain and if you compromise the process, you're an asshole when you start out and you're an asshole when you get back.”- Yvon Chouinard

[@ChrisMillerLite]

Lol kristof. I stumbled across you in my video feed algorithms again. Looks like a blast

[@RealSoundNow]

What's the song that starts at 7.42?

[@adamzetek3864]

He Will Try by: Molly Hemsley its only on apple music sadly

[@johnwilliams9730]

Song at 6:30?

[@vincenzo3292]

I think class 4 is the worst of all. It is easy to underestimate and usually a vertical gravel pit.

[@evanye]

How the heck did you get the last shot of the chopper with the drone? Did you have to land to pick the drone up again?

[@andreyv1]

did you land the helicopter to pick up the drone at the end? Or did you just follow the heli?

[@trippissocool]

So this is what my life could’ve looked like without student debt 😅 (but really though: coolest channel)

[@TheMountainMatt]

Once again... 😳😳😳😳, amazing footage!

[@rickb5946]

Matt and Cristoff :) That wasn't so bad!. Danny : you effers ought to try it with a selfie stick in one hand!!! giving them the stink eye...

[@fugley100]

The eclipse was rad.

[@JamieMiles_southmainmuse]

That was crazy. Y’all looked like Hobbits ascending Mordor. Or something Tolkienian. Not sure.

[@DNFADV]

Epically Dirty.

[@jimmywebb4429]

I love this channel but it's hard to relate when you don't have access to a helicopter and pilot. The WURL video you guys did was probably the best thing I've ever seen on KZbin BTW. Amazing.

[@tinyreid4445]

someone needs to explain the helicopter to me

[@woodskier]

Usually, hikers use a plane or a heliocopter to shorten the hike in, and out. Geuss that helio cut off 2-3 days of hiking and a lot of driving.

[@drewbaum]

Wood Skier cut off about 8-10 hours

[@SeniorTurner]

Insane wow

[@rickj1983]

You two are goats on a mountain. Bet you could do Everest without oxygen supplement. You never cease to amaze me.

[@sethsends]

very cool but why do you guys not break into climbing? You were so worried about it being class 4 but you guys look like you could do ~5.10's no problem.

[@snoosebaum995]

wow nice having your own heli

[@anewby11]

Wondering what you use for your shoulder water bottle holsters?

[@MediocreAmateur]

We use both a Dynafit and a Camp bottle holder. I prefer the camp bottle holder because of its size but the dynafit one is insulated.

[@kodycoggin]

Awesome video as always keep them up. Always looking forward to the notification

[@kentnoble8434]

No helmets is ridiculous.

[@vasocreta]

The lack of helmets did make me cringe, but this was hella awesome!

[@shawnwalden2669]

awesome!!! no one up there but you guys.

[@BobLoblawbob]

Those heli trips are exhausting. I'm out.

[@space_potato]

Dude, you're like the Travis Pastrana of mountaineering

[@chadbaptiste4227]

This shit is outright gut wrenching lol!!

[@Fizbini1]

watching these videos reminds me how retarded park rules are, here in the canadian parks we cant fly or use drones. i love how u guys get access and get birds eye view, it adds insane production value and the videos are even more amazing because of it

[@madmanswhispers]

Are you not allowed to use drones because it potential messes with the birds? I absolutely adore drone footage and would love to use one on my hikes but I'm not sure that it's retarded if it's a rule aimed at preserving wildlife better.

[@Fizbini1]

@@madmanswhispers canadian parks made 4 billion profit last year that i checked. As far as i can tell its just a money grab and deterrent. Right from their website. " disturb wildlife and lead to negative experiences for other visitors". People in general disturb wildlife so the point is moot. These drones can only fly for 20 minutes anyways. So imagine u hiked 4 hours and are doing a multi pitch climb in the middle of no where and chances are u are going to only see up to 3 other climbing groups of 2 to 3 people. And maybe some goats and birds. And if ur lucky a grizzly or blackbear

[@madmanswhispers]

@@Fizbini1 No, the quote from the website backs up my point that it can disturb wildlife. As I understand it, it's not too hard to spook birds from their nests and abandon their offspring for that year. So they are invasive and I think you're putting your desire to play with your toy above the wellbeing of the ecosystem. It's not moot if the same amount of people that disturb wildlife are suddenly able to disturb it more with their use of drones. That's not moot, that's just a lazy attempt to sell valid concerns down the river. Maybe you should just learn to admire nature instead of insisting you get to have things your way at the expense of an already strained ecosystem? Biodiversity is plummeting for a lot of reasons. We rely on nature in far bigger ways than we know. And if you admire the birds and the songs they have to sing, and all of that other wonderful nature like most of us on the channel, then maybe pause for a minute before you call park rules retarded. Like I said, I love the birds-eye view of trails. But it's not worth it if it disturbs wildlife. If you want the already dwindling ecosystem to be preserved for generations (which you should) then maybe consider putting the ecosystem's needs before your wants.

[@peterhall8797]

You shouldn’t be allowed to use those things in the park, it disturbs the environemnt

[@rockie307]

People go to parks and wilderness areas to get away from everything. Nothing worse than stupid Drones flying around when you're in the wilderness. Very few places are off limits to Drones seems like it's not too much to ask to have a few places still wild

[@gogerwi]

That was a tactical tingler for sure

[@sth2937]

Subscribed. Good stuff man. Like the music too.

[@MediocreAmateur]

Thanks. Free, good sounding music is actually one of the hardest things to find. If you ever stumble across any let me know because I'm always looking.

[@dwaynethecockjohnson8454]

Mediocre Amateur whats the song at 3:45?

[@ibnadam1987]

I like the spiderman suite

[@stephenverchinski409]

Helicopter? Really?

[@davidbrotherson1194]

"pucker factor" 🤣

[@edwardlobb931]

You almost need sewn in 25 mil. Kevlar armor.

[@pcpc1617]

You got a chopper and you’re eating dehydrated foods 🤔

[@robertmcdonald9676]

Nicely done, boys!

[@alexanderrogalla1011]

The name of this channel should be downclimbing class 4 in tennis shoes

[@meh4164]

Great videos! Can you guys share your camera setup? I know you use DJI drone, a gopro either to a stick or to shoulder. What other camera do you use?

[@MediocreAmateur]

You guessed right on the drone and gopro. We sometimes use our phones when we're rushed but I also take a sony a6500 along with their 18-135 lens. I try to use the sony as much as possible but often are adventures don't facilitate its use.

[@dougdowney9737]

Ahhh HELL NO. I'll watch the video thanks.

[@LinusWilson]

If u took a chopper it does not count