Where: White Mountains, Nevada
When: September 2009
Partners: The Summit for Heroes team
I was honored to be invited to join the Summit for Heroes team for a hike up Nevada's highest mountain, Boundary Peak, on Friday, September 11, 2009. Joining the team in camp the evening before, we enjoyed some quality campfire time before turning in.
Rising the next morning, the team collected itself and then set out toward Boundary. Along the way, I couldn't resist the urge to bag Trail Canyon Peak. Snapping a quick shot of Boundary from the summit, I signed the register and then started down to meet up with the rest of the team at the Trail Canyon saddle.
It didn't seem like long before we found ourselves on the summit of Nevada's highest peak. It was a perfect day! It felt great to be on this quality summit, one I hadn't set foot on in more than four years.
Before descending, I commented to some in our party that the highly aesthetic 100-foot, needle-like spire just north of (and below) the summit should be the actual highpoint. It appeared to be rather challenging to surmount, but within minutes I found myself wandering that way...
The climb up Boundary Spire was interesting, easy 5th class. A tiny summit!
Returning to the trailhead, I had too much energy left to simply sit around camp...so I set off to climb Kennedy Point and then Mustang Mountain. Atop Mustang, I found an old register tin placed by none other than Walt Wheelock half a century earlier. Good stuff!
A fine day out with fine folks. I am glad I was able to come along.
Summit for Heroes 4-Peak Hike
Mummy's Forehead and Chin
Where: Spring Mountains, Nevada
When: September 2008
Partners: DB
Route: East Face (class 4)
Mileage/Gain 5/2,800
Of the five summits (Nose, Forehead, Chin, Tummy & Toe) of the sprawling Mummy Mountain massif, Mummy's Forehead is perhaps my favorite. With a mostly pleasant hike up to the base of the east face, one scrambles through a short, exposed class 4 bit of terrain and then ambles up a wonderful bristlecone slope to a high treeless summit with awesome views of the high peaks of the Spring Mountains.
From the summit of Mummy's Forehead, one needs only drop down a bit and then easily traverse over to Mummy's Chin, another fine summit with terrific views.
Mummy's Nose
Where: Spring Mountains, Nevada
When: August 2008
Partners: Walt Hutton
Route: North Face (5.0)
Walt and I decided to escape the heat of Las Vegas and bag Mummy's Nose, a nice-looking minor peak adjacent to the main Mummy Mountain massif.
With a very short approach, we soon gained the north face via a fun hidden slot that put us on scrambling terrain leading toward the summit.
Soon reaching the summit, we enjoyed the views for a few minutes before scrambling down to the west saddle and following the easy drainage back to Lee Canyon.
North Macks Peak, Better Than Expected
Where: Spring Mountains, Nevada
When: August 2008
Partners: DB
Route: Northeast Ridge via Bristlecone Slab (5.2)
North Macks Peak is a marginal subpeak of Macks Peak. Fortunately, it makes up for its lack of prominence with a nice route.
Making the short approach one morning, DB and I swung around to the northeast side of the peak and picked up a 200-foot 5.2 limestone slab studded with bristlecones. Quality scrambling up the slab landed us on the northeast ridge at an exposed notch. From there, sweet scrambling along an exposed knife-edge took us to the summit! Nice route!
Black Rock Sister
Where: Spring Mountains, Nevada
When: August 2008
Partners: DB
Route: South Face (class 4)
On our ascent of North Sister, DB and I had spied a curious black formation on the ridge east of our objective. Eventually reaching the day's primary peak, we saw two entries in the register regarding this small, black peak, which folks were referring to as Black Rock Sister. We headed over to check it out.
Reaching the base of the formation, we were delighted to see that some scrambling could be had! Before long, we stood atop the small, exposed and loose summit.
North Sister
Where: Spring Mountains, Nevada
When: August 2008
Partners: DB
Route: East Ridge (class 2)
On the Sisters massif, North Sister is a significant subpeak. We opted to do the trivial east slope approach from the south, though the traverse from South Sister is considered a quality route. South Sister, while a fine peak, I'd already done four times.
With the ascent under our belts, we hung out for a few then dropped back down the east slope in order to traverse over to Black Rock Sister, a minor formation to the east which we'd noticed on our ascent and then seen referenced twice in the summit register.
Mummy's Toe
Where: Spring Mountains, Nevada
When: August 2008
Partners: DB
Route: Mummy Spring (class 2)
After a 5-year hiatus from the high Spring Mountains, I found myself hanging locally for a couple weekends. It was time to visit some of the lesser "peaks" of the higher range. Mummy's Toe was on the agenda...
Starting out from the North Loop Trail, one of the first trails I'd been on after moving to the area back in 2002, we soon found ourselves at the junction to Mummy Spring. At the junction one finds the Raintree, a rather large and impressive bristlecone pine specimen.
Heading down the Mummy Spring trail, we soon gained the spring. There, we left the trail and headed up the steep, easy slope to the final ridge that would take us to the summit.
Enjoying the summit for a half hour or so, we eventually headed down as thunder clouds began to roll in. It had been a short but wonderful day back in the Spring Mountains!
Great Basin's Baker Peak (12,305 Feet)
Once hiking up the Wheeler Peak Trail, I found myself on the summit of the peak staring over at the day's primary objective, Baker Peak. Baker Peak, the fourth highest mountain in Nevada, is a twin-peaked mountain just south of the famous Wheeler Peak. The east peak is the higher of the two summits.
Dropping down from the summit of Wheeler Peak, I began the talus-covered traverse of the ridge connecting the two peaks. The going was mostly easy and the views of Baker Peak as I approached became more and more impressive.
Eventually gaining the west summit (12,298 feet), I dropped down just a bit and quickly traversed over to the higher east summit. Relaxing atop the highpoint for a few, I soon gathered myself for the long return back to Wheeler Peak's summit and the slog back down the trail to my vehicle at the Wheeler Peak Trailhead.
TOPO
*Borrowed photos courtesy of H.W. Stockman
Nevada's 3rd Highest, Jeff Davis Peak
Where: Great Basin National Park, Nevada
Partners: Solo
Route: North Slope (Class 2-3) & Traverse to Wheeler Peak (Class 2)
Mileage/Gain: 9/3,600
Early one summer, I scrambled up the class 2-3 north slope of Jeff Davis Peak (12,771 feet). Doing so after a wonderful approach via the park's celebrated Bristlecone Pine grove (once the home of the world's oldest living organism) and the controversial Wheeler Glacier (Nevada's only glacier), the views into the Jeff Davis-Wheeler cirque as I climbed were incredible.
Eventually reaching the summit, I spent awhile enjoying the views and reading some Haiku before beginning the march over to Wheeler Peak via the connecting ridge. One can imagine the surprise of the trail hikers on Wheeler Peak's summit as I popped up to the top from the peak's steep and loose south face!
TOPO
*Borrowed photos courtesy of H.W. Stockman
Mapping Lehman Caves
Where: Great Basin National Park, Nevada
When: Fall & Winter 2003
A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to join Steve Deveny and other members of the Southern Nevada Grotto for an ongoing survey project at Great Basin National Park.
In 1986, a portion of the cave ceiling had collapsed over part of the underground trail system through the highly decorated and wonderful Lehman Caves. The park had since closed the back third of the affected cave system to public visitation. In consideration of a new above-ground trail system that was in the works above the collapsed area of the cave, the NPS had since decided that a new survey of the cave was needed to determine the amount of rock between the proposed above-ground trail and the collapsed ceiling of the cave. That's where we came into the picture.
Fortunately, Steve, a talented climber and caver, was a surveyor by trade. Contacted about the project by the park, Steve enthusiastic signed us up for this significantly ambitious undertaking. I was to participate in several of the weekend survey trips to the cave, during which, our work team would enter the cave after visiting hours and spend much of the nighttime hours alone in the depths of the cave.
Learning quite a lot about cave surveying, as well as being given the opportunity to visit seldom-visited parts of this magical cave system, I harbor fond memories of my volunteer work at Lehman Caves.
Wheeler Peak (13,063 feet), Nevada's Second Highest
Wheeler Peak is the crown jewel of stunning Great Basin National Park. With a wonderful trail going all the way to the summit from either of two 10,000-foot trailheads, it's a hike that everyone should try.
First hiking up Wheeler Peak around 2002, I immediately fell in the love with the high, alpine tundra and expansive views this giant offers. I returned a year later to make another climb of Wheeler, this time via its high neighbor, Jeff Davis Peak. A year after that, I returned to traverse over to Baker Peak (and back again) from Wheeler. A summit I'll never tire of.
TOPO
*Borrowed photos courtesy of H.W. Stockman
Pyramid Peak and False Pyramid
I set out early one morning for a hike up Pyramid Peak's east ridge. After the first couple miles of trail with DB, she turned around below the east ridge saddle and started back. I then headed up the beautiful ridge toward the top. I reached the high, treeless summit (11,926 feet) shortly thereafter.
From the summit, I dropped down the northeast ridge to the locally named "False Pyramid," another 11,000+ foot peak. Good views from the summit. There, I dropped down False Pyramid's northeast ridge and then found my way onto the Baker Lake Trail.
I returned to the trailhead 5 hours after starting out.
TOPO
*Borrowed photos courtesy of H.W. Stockman
Troy Peak, John Muir's Favorite Peak in the Great Basin
After several years of thinking about it, I finally got my act together and headed up to Troy Peak with DB. Afterall, I'd read that the peak was John Muir's favorite in the Great Basin. That struck me as something.
Car camping near the end of the extremely washed out dirt road up Schofield Canyon, DB and I set out early the next morning. With rain sprinkling on us now and then, it cleared somewhat as we gained the toe of the southeast ridge and began heading up. Then, as we neared the top, storm clouds rolled in quickly.
With DB opting to start down while I continue to the top alone, I jogged up to the highpoint, briefly enjoyed the views, then headed back down, reaching DB near the toe of the southeast ridge. A pretty hike out followed.
TOPO
*Photos borrowed from H.W. Stockman
White Mountain (14,246 feet)
At 14,246 feet, White Mountain is the 3rd highest peak in California. It's also the easiest summit of the 14ers to reach. It lies way over there, on the other end of the spectrum from Thunderbolt Peak.
From a trailhead at 12,000 feet, one follows a well-beaten, uh, Jeep trail all the way to the tippy-top. It's that easy!
I did this 15-mile roundtrip hike with less than 4,000 feet of elevation gain in a handful of hours back around 2003 or so. The views, as one might imagine, are quite good.
*Photos courtesy of Rick Kent
Climbing The Sisters, or Finding a Corpse
It was only late October, but heavy snows had already fallen on the high Spring Mountains above Las Vegas. I asked a buddy of mine and his girlfriend if they were up for a romp up The Sisters, a fine winter mountaineering destination I'd been up several times before. They said okay!
Leaving Vegas one morning and heading up toward the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort, we turned onto the dirt Macks Canyon road, making a last-minute decision to climb nearby Macks Peak instead.
We were about a mile up the empty road when we started to encounter significant snow and...a truck turned sideways in the middle of the road with its nose dipping into a gully. We stopped just before the truck and cursed the sonofabitch who had gotten stuck in the snow and abandoned his truck, causing us to either forego our plans for Macks or add many extra miles to the already full and snowy day.
It was then that we noticed a strange contraption, an unusual arrangement - there was a gardening hose coming out of the tailpipe, the other end of which led back into the driver's window, which had a bunch of duct tape over it. Hmmm...ut oh.
My buddy and I got out of the truck, telling his girlfriend to wait there. Carefully approaching the vehicle, we moved around to the driver's side and saw a man sitting there. His eyes were closed and we couldn't tell if he was breathing. He appeared to be deep in a carbon monoxide sleep...or dead.
Hmmm. We pondered whether we should break the window and drag him out. But what if he was desperate, had a gun, etc. We made another decision.
Quietly removing the garden hose from the tailpipe, we retraced our steps to my buddy's truck and backed out of there. The ski resort would be opening soon. Let's head up there and use the phone to call the police. And that's what we did.
Not one to let opportunities fly by, we made the most of what was becoming a clear and windless day in the mountains. The Sisters was quite accessible from the paved road, so we drove back down from the ski resort for a couple of miles and parked on the shoulder.
Starting up the snowy slopes below the mountain, we made good time despite punching through to our crotches for awhile. Eventually gaining the ridge leading east up toward the small saddle below the summit, we hit better conditions and the views expanded.
Reaching the saddle, I explained to my buddy and his girlfriend that a little bit of scrambling up a snowy chimney would be need to be negotiated to get to the narrow summit ridge leading to the highpoint. My buddy, afraid of heights, opted to wait at the saddle and visit the bristlecones growing there while his girlfriend and I continued to the top.
Easily working up the chimney, we stepped left and made the final scramble to the summit ridge. A short catwalk along the exposed, snowy ridge would take us to the highpoint.
And just then, Kelly stepped through a hidden cornice. Fortunately, only her right foot plunged through and she was able to grab on and escape injury or worse. Shewwww. 
Reaching the summit without further incident, Kelly celebrated her first snow climb! We'd all but forgotten the guy in the truck in the snow with the hose.
*Bottom photo by Kelly
Boundary Peak Attempt in a Blizzard; Later, Redemption on Boundary Peak and Montgomery Peak in the Spring
Boundary Peak is Nevada's highest mountain. Not typically considered a "snowy" mountain, Rick Kent, Eric Lee, Chuck Ohrbom and I set out in November 2004 to attempt it during a blizzard.
Car-camping the night before, we woke early to snowfalling at the trailhead and began our attempt. After climbing through the brush and trees, we eventually encountered treeline and continued up.
With poor visibility, high winds, heavy snow on the ground and falling from the sky, we stopped for a break at the saddle. There, we discussed the increasing avalanche risk on the steep slope we'd next be heading up. Collectively, it was decided that we'd turn around and try again another day.
Fortunately, me, Rick, Tara Smith, Susan Malcher, Luba Leef, Mike Cressman and Mark Beauchamp returned in the spring and climbed the mountain (and its more spectacular neighbor, Montgomery Peak) over fine, styrofoam snow and clear skies.
*Photos courtesy of Rick Kent
