Humphreys Peak is located just north of Flagstaff and is the highpoint of the state as well as the San Francisco Range. In fact, the "range" was once a huge volcano that blew apart thousands of years ago; Humphreys Peak is just a high bump along the remaining crater rim. Driving up along Interstate-17 from the south, it is readily evident judging by the mountain's slopes that the old peak stood well over 14,000 feet tall and must have been a grand peak to behold. It still is today! On a clear day, the peak is visible from over a hundred miles away. It is one of the four sacred peaks of the Navajo, demarcating the traditional western boundary of their lands. From the high plateau of the Navajo lands, the peak stands out like a huge sentinel. It is also visible from the Grand Canyon, with the better views coming from the North Rim. From the south, it is visible from various points along I-17, especially near where I-17 rises just south of Camp Verde before dropping into the Verde Valley. After moving to Arizona in 1992, I made my first attempt in 1993 but failed. My first successful ascent was in 1994 and all told, I have summitted this peak five times, and have been turned back twice. I have also had one training exercise on the peak that didn't result in a summit, so I don't count it as an attempt.

From Flagstaff, follow the signs to the Grand Canyon, eventually getting onto US-180 westbound. About 8 miles out of Flagstaff take the Snowbowl Road up another 7 miles to the parking areas. The hike starts at the lower Snowbowl parking lot at a large information kiosk. The trail cuts diagonally across the main ski area and enters the trees at the Kachina Wilderness boundary. It is a well-constructed trail and very easy to follow. About a half-mile in, the trail comes to a T-junction. Turn left (going right leads to the upper buildings of the ski area). From here, the trail makes four or five very long switchbacks up the west flanks of the peak. Views are minimal due to the heavy tree cover, but nearer the top the trees thin and the views west over the Coconino Plateau are astounding! The trail then traverses up toward the main saddle between Humphreys Peak and its southerly neighbor, Agassiz Peak. Here, the trees are virtually gone or severely stunted. Also, the trail gets steep in places but not difficult. The saddle, known as Weatherford Saddle, is at nearly 12,000 feet elevation and offers an excellent place to stop for a break. It is tempting to hike up Agassiz but due to the sensitive biota, hiking it is not allowed except in winter when it is under snow. The remaining mile or so to Humphreys Peak is along the west crater rim. The trail loses itself in the rocks sometimes but the going is easy and logical. A handful of false summits await you before the true summit is reached. Overall the hike is 4.5 miles one-way, with about 3,300 feet of gain.

My summaries of my hikes:

First Attempt: In July 1993, I drove up from Phoenix to the Snowbowl Ski parking lot, and started hiking. I actually followed a lesser trail into the woods well below the actual trail, and realized I was lost. So I just started hiking directly through the trees, directly uphill. Eventually I found the proper trail. I made it up to the Weatherford Saddle on the ridge between Humphreys Peak and Mt. Agassiz, but dense fog and some strong winds, plus blowing snow, turned me back about a mile short of the summit. The winter of 1992-93 had been very wet and the peak was still under much snow into July. I haven't ever seen it snowed in as late since. Coming back to my truck, I had the extra bonus of leaving my headlights on at the parking lot. Fortunately some workers gave me a jumpstart. 0 for 1.

Second Attempt: (7/11/94) In excellent weather, I took the standard Humphreys Trail from Snowbowl to the top. There was not a cloud from horizon to horizon, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon was visible, about 70 miles to the north. The weather was spectacular and I had a wonderful hike. Success! 1 for 2.

Third Attempt: (6/14/97) I went up with college friends Adrian and Jennifer (Whitney, '92), and Jennifer's fiance, Mark. Jen and Mark had tried once before in late Spring but snow stopped them. Adrian, who lives in England, was traveling through and bagging peaks- he did Whitney a few days earlier. As for our hike, we had cool yet nice weather but had some strong winds near the top. Same route as before. 2 for 3. For a descriptive account of this hike with cool photos, visit this site

Fourth Attempt: (9/13/97) I kept a long-standing promise to take my friend Kelly (Whitney '92, Boundary '95) up Humphreys, and she finally took me up on it. Her friend Doug also came along. The mountain was socked in with clouds from the monsoonal storms the night before. I stayed with Kelly while Doug literally ran up and down the peak. We went slow but eventually summitted in dense fog. No views. Coming down it started to rain and one bolt of lightning prompted us to pretty much run down the route back into the trees. 3 for 4.

Fifth Attempt: January 1998. I went up with four others, eager to try out my new snowshoes. The good news: the snowshoes worked out great! I was able to traverse soft snow without postholing up to my waist. The bad news: I didn't eat right, went up on a nearly empty stomach and had my only bout of Altitude Sickness. After enduring headaches and nausea about 3/4 of the way up I decided to abort the attempt and head back down. 3 for 5

Snow Shelter Training Exercise: February 1998. This was an exercise for our Mountain Rescue Unit. There were nearly 40 of us, from Central Arizona Mountain Rescue (us), Southern Arizona Rescue Association, Grand Canyon NPS Search and Rescue and the Northern Arizona Search and Rescue Association. We began our climb around 7 am in about 8 inches of new snow. We all plowed through the powder to the 11,400 foot level near an old WWII Bomber crash site on the west face of the peak, where we dug snow caves for an overnight stay. During the evening, a storm blew in, dropped about another foot of powder, and created some iffy avalanche conditions on the bare slopes below the summit, precluding any attempt for the top. We packed up camp and headed for the bottom early the next morning. I don't count this as an actual attempt since the summit was not on the agenda.

Sixth Attempt: (9/26/98) I went up with fellow mountain rescue buddy Jason Odrzywolski for some good exercise. We made excellent time and passed quite a few people. Winds at the summit were extremely strong, but the views were superb. I literally crawled up the final 100 feet. The hike down went fast, although I slipped once and had an unplanned butt landing. Total time: 7 hours, including a total of one hour of stoppage at the saddle and the summit. 4 for 6.

Seventh Attempt: (7/3/99) This was supposed to be a group hike consisting of members of the Department of Mathematics from ASU, but one postponement on my part and the holiday weekend conspired to keep people away, unfortunately. Nevertheless, one hardy soul showed up for the hike: Dritan Zela, a grad student in the department. We arrived at the trailhead at 6:30 a.m., dismayed by the cloud cover on the top of the peaks. We began hiking in, taking a leisurely pace, not entirely sure whether the summit was possible with the clouds (i.e. possible storms). Around 9:30 a.m. the clouds began to drift away and I decided to make a push for the top. The was Dritan's first time on Humphreys and he chose to just go as far as the Saddle. I made the summit around 11 a.m. The winds were strong and clouds drifted up and over the top, but the views were tremendous for the most part. The hike down was pleasant and I arrived back to my truck by 2:30, Dritan having beaten me by an hour or so. 5 for 7.

Eighth Attempt: (6/13/03) My fiance Beth gave me a late birthday gift: a weekend at the Ski Lift Lodge just north of Flagstaff on the main highway out of town. The lodge consists of a handful of set-apart bungalows and is located right at the junction of the main highway (US-180) and Snowbowl Road. We arrived Friday evening and toured downtown Flagstaff, enjoying a good dinner at Charlie's, in the Weatherford Hotel. The next morning, we made the hike up to Humphreys' summit, starting on the trail around 8 a.m. and making good progress up the trail. We were in no hurry due to very clear and windless conditions. After a long break at the Weatherford Saddle, we made the summit right around noon. Unlike my last couple of times at the top, there was no wind to speak of. The downside was the number of bugs and flies up this high. But the views were spectacular and we had a great time. I counted 27 people on the summit simulatenously at one point, with a few dozen more either going down or coming up the trails. It was by far the most crowded I'd ever seen the peak; I'm guessing a lot of people in the Flagstaff area awoke to a beautiful morning and decided on the spot to make the hike. The hike down went quick, and one woman had counted the number of people who signed in at the register at the start: 166 for the day (so far)! We saw numerous people still going up, and a lot of people just out for an amble on the lower slopes. Who can blame them? It was so clear and beautiful. Beth and I made the entire round trip in 7 hours, and were grateful to have our hotel so close. We showered and rested, then went back into town that evening for a celebratory dinner at a Mexican food place. The next day, Sunday, we used our complimentary ski-lift vouchers given to us by the hotel people and took the ski lift up to the 11,500-foot mark on Agassiz Peak's west slopes. I had never taken this ride and it was a unique position from which to view Humphreys and the main massif of the mountain. We stayed up high for about 30 minutes then rode down. Our drive home took us through Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona, then the boring route down Interstate-17. Thank you, Beth! 6 for 8.

A comment on Humphreys Peak: This hike is probably the easiest highpoint of all the western states. The trail is well maintained, it's easily done in a few hours and it doesn't have any portions of extreme exposure or requiring technical expertise. However, Humphreys makes up for its relative ease by having some very fickle weather. Summer thunderstorms are tremendous, extremely dangerous and they build up FAST! It can go from blue, cloudless skies to big puffy thunderheads and lightning in about 30 minutes time. If you go up during the monsoon season (usually July-August), plan to be off the mountain by noon, which means a 5 or 6 am start.