Battling The Green Monster

Where: Obscurity, Nevada
When: January 2009
Partners: Solo
Mileage/Gain: 4/2,000

In my quest to bag every obscure peak within 100 miles of Las Vegas, I finally found the time to tick Green Monster Benchmark off my to-do list. Without taking the time to do any research on possible approaches (ya know, look into all the beta out there on this one!), I simply parked somewhere near Green Monster Mine and started up. After some canyon walking, I gained a fun limestone chute that led to a sub-ridge that (eventually) led toward the summit.

Once on the ridge, I sidehilled past a prominent false summit, crossed a saddle, and then scrambled to the summit ridge. Once there, I found the going rather interesting, involving crossing over and around several substantial rocky ribs protruding from the crest. Soon, the summit was under my feet. I found an old survey cairn but no register.

Rather than retrace my steps, I dropped straight down from the summit and into a canyon below me. Once there, I easily bypassed a dryfall (the only one I encountered) and then made my way out to flattish desert, eventually bending right and following my nose back to my vehicle.