BOU AVENUE
Grief Mountain
On 21 December 2025, Zosia Zgolak and I ascended Grief Mountain located on the north shore of Lake Pend Oreille just east of Sandpoint, Idaho.  I picked this objective mainly because of the easy driving access and the promise of good views from the top based on satellite imagery.  The only route information I could find online were a couple of very brief reports on peakbagger.com, but these were enough to get us started on the right side of the mountain (the south ridge).

Starting from a large pullout (48.28395, -116.34963) next to the intersection of Trestle Creek Road and Idaho Highway 200, Zosia and I headed up an obvious exploration road which climbs briefly through the forest before ending in a short loop.  A side road branches off the east side of the loop, but uncertain about where it would lead, we opted to bushwhack up the crest of the ridge.  Shortly after, we stumbled onto another road traversing across the ridge, but we ignored it and kept grinding upward along the crest.  Grief Mountain’s south ridge is not technically difficult to ascend, but it is no cakewalk either.  The ascent is steep and entails a fair bit of route-finding with enough annoying bush and deadfall to dissuade most spandex-clad Instagrammers.  Fortunately, the mountain was mostly snow-free which spared us from potentially more misery.  A large cairn marks the true summit, but we took our break a little lower to the west where we were treated to unobstructed views of Lake Pend Oreille.

For the descent, Zosia and I tried to retrace our steps as much as we could, but the ridge's complexity had us veering off-track more often than not.  On several occasions, we ended up in some pretty heinous terrain and had to either climb back uphill to find a better way around or simply thrash straight through.  Of course, we have both endured much worse bushwhacking elsewhere, but it is fair to say that this mountain does a pretty good job of living up to its name.  Near the bottom, we again stumbled onto the road traversing the ridge, and this time, we followed it out and found that it connected directly to the short loop near the start.  The remaining walk down to the pullout was mercifully easy.
Off to a good start! Zosia begins the ascent by following an exploration road rising from the end of the parking pullout.
They're in better shape than my teeth! Zosia finds a nice set of teeth in the bush.
And the long uphill grind begins... After crossing a road, Zosia muddles her way up a steep and loose section of the ridge.
Wish there were more sections like this! Surmounting this rocky section requires some easy scrambling with mild exposure.
This is about the half-way point up the mountain. Zosia pauses for a break beside some colourful pine trees.
Alas, poor Yorick! Zosia has knack for finding dead things in the woods.
Follow the white rabbit! A white rabbit tries to remain inconspicuous amongst some rocks and twigs.
This is what we came for! Views open up along the ridge near the top of the mountain.
Not the best views from here! Zosia stands on the summit of Grief Mountain (1333 metres).
 

Still amazing even with all the cloud cover!

An open slope below the summit grants this unobstructed view of Lake Pend Oreille.

 

Much easier ascents than Grief Mountain! Here is a closer look at a couple of prominent mountains to the south.
You can ski for free on the bunny hill there! Visible at centre to the northwest is Schweitzer Mountain ski resort.
Maybe we'll come back for Marion someday... Zosia descends the steep south ridge of Grief Mountain.  Across the valley is Mount Marion.
Not fun! Route-finding can be challenging here even on descent.
A very steep and often challenging grind! Total Distance:  6.6 kilometres
Round-Trip Time:  5 hours 57 minutes
Cumulative Elevation Gain:  678 metres

GPX Data