Humphreys Peak may be the best-known mountain in all of Arizona, especially to people from out of state. It is the state's highest mountain and one of only two peaks to exceed 12,000 feet in elevation (nearby ridge-bump Mt. Agassiz is the other), and the only true alpine life-zone environment in Arizona. Due to its status as the state highpoint, it naturally attracts hikers from all over, from Arizona and from out of state and even internationally. As far as big western peaks go, climbing Humphreys is actually quite simple since it features a fine trail all the way to the summit. Most opt for the summer and fall months, while more experienced climbers can make the summit during winter's sometimes-snowy conditions. Despite its seemingly tame nature, Humphreys can be a rough customer for those who come unprepared, or if the weather turns south. Thunderstorms build amazingly fast during the monsoon, while high winds are consistently reported along the upper ridges. The elevation can sometimes knock people flat, especially if they show up without any acclimation. Personally, I have been on the mountain numerous times: six successful summits, two failed attempts and two winter search-and-rescue training missions. I have been up there in wonderful still, dry conditions, and brutal white-outs, storms, and winds that would blow me over.

Humphreys Peak is actually a rim-point along an ancient caldera of a once-gigantic volcano that may have risen close to 16,000 feet in elevation. Some time in the distant past it blew up, similar in manner to the 1980 Mt. St. Helens blast. The mountain essentially blew its top sideways, sending everything generally eastward and reducing the summit by a few thousand feet in the process. The series of hills and mountains east of Humphreys, e.g. O'Leary Peak, are remnants of this old blast. When standing on the rim, it's pretty obvious how the blast went and where everything went to. The collective remains of this once mighty volcano are grouped together as the "San Francisco Peaks". When driving toward the range from the south via Flagstaff, Humphreys Peak is invisible, hidden by the foreground peaks. What seems like the highpoint is actually Agassiz. The volcano is now extinct, but volcanism still exists in the area. Many nearby peaks like Kendrick, Sitgreaves and Bill Williams owe their existence to past volcanism, and the amazing Sunset Crater/Bonito Lava flow nearby dates to less than 1,000 years ago. The high country around Flagstaff and including the big peaks is sometimes grouped into a superset of ranges and peaks called the San Francisco Volcanic Field.

The driving and hiking is fairly straightforward: 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 Weatherford 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. 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. It usually takes me between six and seven hours.

My summaries of my hikes:

First Attempt (July 1993): My first attempt didn't go very well, partly due to weather and my own inexperience. Driving up from Phoenix I arrived at the trailhead around 7 in the morining and started hiking - the wrong way. I actually followed a lesser path at a wrong bearing from the kiosk signs. I walked across the ski run, into the trees, across some more meadows, more trees, meadows... and knew I was essentially lost. No big deal, I figured. I just started hiking up this time and in time I did come upon the trail. I followed the trail up to Weatherford Saddle where I cam upon considerable snow and white-out conditions. The winter of 1992-93 had been a very wet one and there was still much snow on the peak, which is atypical for July. I tried to follow beaten paths but literally had 5 feet of visibility, so I decided to cancel this try and head out. The hike out went fine - I saw a big porcupine - but when I got back to my truck I discovered I had left my lights on! My battery was dead. Some work guys gave me a jump, and I headed back home considerably wiser, and 0 for 1 on the peak.

Second Attempt (July 1994): 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 (June 1997): I went up with college friends Adrian and Jennifer (Whitney, '92), and Jennifer's fiance, Mark. Jen and Mark had tried Humphreys 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.

Fourth Attempt (September 1997): 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 monsoon 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): My first winter/snow conditions attempt. I went with a group of five total. Weather had been dry and we hoped the snow had consolidated well. I had a brand-new pair of snowshoes, and I am glad to report they worked great! However my tummy not so great. I got very nauseous half-way up, keeling over and nearly throwing up a few times. Not good... probable altitude sickness symptom, so I turned around back to the ski area and camped out there for awhile, waiting for the others. Bummer, man. 3 for 5.

Mountain Rescue SAR Alpine/Avalanche Training (February 1998): This was an exercise for our Mountain Rescue Unit: There were nearly 40 of us, from Central Arizona Mountain Rescue (CAMRA - 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. There were some classes on avalanches, recognizing snow layers, things like that. Some people really suffered - I think we had some bona-fide cases of Altitude Sickness. I felt mostly okay but lethargic. The hike out the next day was fun, tromping in powder through the trees.

Sixth Attempt (September 1998): I went up with Jason Odrzywolski (pronounced "O-drz-y-wol-ski") from CAMRA for some good exercise and another go at the peak. 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. No kidding when I guess the gusts to be above 80 mph. The hike down went fast, although I slipped once and took a pretty hefty spill. Total time: 7 hours, including a total of one hour of stoppage at the saddle and the summit. 4 for 6.

Seventh Attempt (July 1999): 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.

Mountain Rescue Alpine Recertification (February 2002): We (CAMRA) had to re-certify in Alpine Rescue, so we trumped up to Humphreys for our recert. Unfortunately this was a very dry winter and even now there was barely any snow on the ground. We found enough to make some snow-anchors, dig trenches, do some avalanche beacon/pole searches and enact a few scenarios. There was enough to make it fun and informative, and we passed, of course. There was never any doubt with that. The best thing afterwards was the big meal in town when 30+ of us all crammed our smelly butts into a little Italian place in Flag. Mmm, good eating.

Eighth Attempt (June 2003): 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.