[Gimpilator]

Very few people have climbed as many peaks in the Vegas area as Tracy Foutz. I started asking myself a year or two ago, “Who is this guy?”. He must be a bit of a local legend. After years of studying maps and subsequently visiting some very obscure locations, every time I pull out a register, Tracy Foutz has been there. Often he was the only one, or just one of two ascents in the last few decades. Because achieving obscurity is something we share an interest in, I wanted to meet him. After a year of texting and emails, we found an open window. We agreed to go to the newly established Gold Butte National Monument. This group of peaks is sandwiched between the Virgin and Colorado rivers and Lake Mead. The straight line distance is not far from Las Vegas, however the bodies of water make it one of the more remote parts of Nevada. A common concern for people visiting the area is running out of gas. Just two days before we were set to launch, Bob Burd invited me to join his group, who were also going to that area. Of course. I should have known. Bob is always two steps ahead of me. He seems to anticipate where I’m going and get there first. Signing desert registers days or weeks after him has become the norm. Pretty funny. December 10 Jumbo Peak - 5761’ Anyhow, Tracy and I would both be bringing our vehicles for added safety. I met him at Whitney Pocket and we drove to the starting point for Jumbo Peak, which is the highest in the area. Tracy had climbed Jumbo previously with Courtney Purcell, but was graciously willing to repeat it. He brought his rope and I carried a bunch of webbing.

Jumbo

Packard

summit block

The approach hike is relatively short. After weaving in and around some tall boulders with narrow corridors we were faced with the chimney. Tracy went up and I followed. There are a couple of tricky spots tall involving chockstones. Near the top it was more like a cave. I mantled up between two chockstones and then traversed onto a down-sloping chock-stone ledge which spans the chimney but is open to exposure on both sides.

It was at this point that I realized that I left the webbing down with my pack, so I went back down to get it. When I got back up to the ledge, Tracy was ready to climb and trailed the rope for me. Above the chock-stone ledge is a steep slab with scant holds. There’s a gap between this slab and a vertical wall. With a big step up, Tracy got onto the slab and climbed up the gap, using both the corner of the slab and the wall on the side. At the top of the slab, the gap widens and there’s more exposure.

Tracy climbed off the slab side and onto the top of the wall where there was a sling anchor. Soon after he was ready to belay me up. I found this climb to be awkward, even with a belay. The first few moves were the most insecure and I was very glad to have a belay.

Jumbo summit

From the belay station we crossed a final large chock-stone and then went up a narrow rib of rock to the summit. It was a good first summit together for us and I was really grateful he was willing to repeat it and do the leading.

Charleston

Packard

Bonelli

Ready to head down I added a sling to some of the scratchy old ones already present. Tracy made a long rappel all the way to the bottom of the chimney, but there would be too much rope drag to pull the rope from the bottom. I rappelled down to the chock-stone ledge and then pulled the rope from there.

Packard Peak – 5604’ This little peak is named after the peakbagging legend. We found our way through some large boulders and slabs and brush and then traversed down into the saddle between the peaks. At first glace, the summit block looks like it might just as challenging as the one on Jumbo, but we found that it’s barely class 3.

Jumbo

Packard summit block

Packard summit

Tramp Ridge

Gold Butte – 5049’ Daylight hours are short this time of year, but we had time for one more. I thought we were going to hike the namesake peak of the area, but Tracy surprised me and said we were going to drive up. I already knew from looking at the map that there was an old road, but I figured it was probably too far gone.

quartz from a gold mine appears as snow

Tracy drives a Jeep. The road in question is steep and rugged, but was no problem for his Jeep in low gear. We parked near an old mine and then hiked/scrambled up to the summit.

Packard and Jumbo

summit rock and Mica behind

Gold Butte summit

Afterward we loaded some of my provisions and camping gear into his Jeep for the following day. Our itinerary was somewhat flexible, but we were both very interested in getting Gold Cross Peak, one of the southernmost in the group and perhaps one of the hardest to access in Nevada, unless you use a boat. The road up Twin Springs Wash was rough but not too bad. I wondered what it would be once we went over the edge and dropped down into Gregg Canyon. This steep section carved out of the cliffs is famously known as the Scanlon Dugway. In combination with the old Scanlon ferry, it used to connect the northern Arizona mule wagon route to southern Nevada. Richard Carey and others online suggest that this road is too steep and dangerous to drive, and it’s better to hike it these days. In hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t read any of this stuff prior to our trip. The drive from Gold Butte to our camping spot took nearly 3 hours and it was well after dark when we came to the pass and the Scanlon Dugway. We removed the floodlight covers on top of the jeep and then we were on our way down. It was too narrow to turn around. In the dark I couldn’t see how far the drop off was on my side. The road is reported to reach a maximum grade of 20 degrees. A couple of large boulders in the middle of the road were startling, but there was just barely enough room to squeak around them. Safely below the dugway we drove over some short dryfalls. By the time we got to camp in Scanlon Wash, we were both rattled, physically and mentally. 12-11 Gold Cross Peak – 3422’ We ascended the northernmost ridge, which was pleasant except for a few unnecessary bumps. On the way up I found some nice chunks of rose quartz. It was also really interesting to be able to look down on the place where the Colorado River enters Lake Mead. There’s a very definite change from muddy brown water to clear blue.

Bonelli

mouth of the Colorado River

Jumbo and Packard

Bonelli

We passed over some false summits before coming to the main one. We were both glad to get this very remote peak.

Gold Cross

Gold Cross summit

Tracy says Squaw Peak is a good scramble

muddy waters

Bonelli Peak – 5334’ I really wanted to explore Powell Mountain, but we had bigger fish to fry, so we drove back up Scanlon Dugway to the start for Bonelli. We hiked up a northwest wash which was unusually pleasant for desert terrain, and then ascended a steep rib to reach the northwest ridge crest.

We scaled this peak pretty quickly, hoping to get back to the car before dark. On the summit we agreed that this vantage has the most expansive view of Lake Mead either of us has seen.

12-12 Mica Peak – 5758’ This is the second highest peak in the area, listed as only 3 feet lower than Jumbo. Better do both. Tracy’s Jeep was getting low on gas, so we used my Forester for his final day in the area. I drove around Gold Butte and then nearly all the way to the pass between these two peaks.

The west ridge of Mica is fairly pleasant at first and then gets steeper for the last part. There are some rock formations to navigate around and then scrub forest near the top. After some false summits, we came to the top and found the register.

looking back at Gold Butte

Packard and Jumbo again

Mica

I could see Azure Ridge, a peak I hoped to have time for the following day. Point 5102 has an intriguing spire at the top. I wonder if it has been climbed before. A mile to the south, just on the other side of a saddle, another peak was mighty tempting. But I knew it would derail our plans for the rest of the day, so I left it.

tempting south peak

Azure Ridge

Azure Ridge zoom

Point 5102

[Gimpilator]

Lime Ridge – 4112’ I had the idea to combine a couple of peaks for the remainder of the day, but as we were nearing the starting point, Tracy told me he was feeling the combined effort of our trip and might just explore Lime Canyon while I went for the peaks. That was fine with me and I left the car unlocked for him should he return before me.

I started with the lesser of the two and went up a southeast ridge. There was some nice solid limestone along the way which I scrambled on, but this could be easily avoided. There were no further difficulties. After passing a false summit I found the benchmark and remains from the survey, but no register.

Lime Canyon Peak up next

false summit

Lime Ridge

Virgin

Tramp Ridge

Lime Canyon Peak - 4406’ I retraced my route to 3520 feet and then headed south down a gully. At 3120 feet I came to the top of a few dryfalls, the second of which was large. This I avoided by steep loose slopes further west.

below the big dryfall

I crossed the main wash and then entered a northern canyon on Lime Canyon Peak. This steep canyon has some obstructing cliffs, but I had eyed a way through from the previous peak. After scrambling some short bands of limestone, I emerged at a saddle on the northeast ridge.

looking back at Lime Ridge

The upper half of this ridge is very steep and required careful footing. I saw many varieties of fossils. At 4200 feet I reached the north ridge, which is narrow in places. This long upper ridge run is one of the most fun routes I have done in the Lake Mead area. Just enough exposure to keep your focus. Very nice views as well.

getting steep

fossils

Conscious that Tracy was probably waiting for me, I descended as quickly as safely possible. From the saddle on the northeast ridge I went down a draw into the main wash of the peak, passing some red sandstone along the way.

Lime Ridge

I bid Tracy farewell and offered to follow him out, if he was at all worried about running out of gas. He said he was confident he would make it. 12-13 Tramp Ridge SW Peak - 5194’ I could have saved a half mile by driving the Lincoln Mine road to the mouth of the west canyon, but it looked bad at the start, so I didn’t try it. 5 Foot Canyon has some mining relics, mainly sections of ore cart track scattered around.

Tramp Ridge up next

At the fork I turned right and followed the canyon southeast and then southwest to the saddle right below the peak. There was one short scramble step. On the way up, I kept eyeing the connecting ridge to the main peak of Tramp Ridge, wondering if it would go nicely. There looked to be at least one nasty step.

Tramp Ridge

summit

Tramp Ridge - 5262’ I descended part way back into the canyon and then traversed to the saddle between the peaks. I saw options on the west side to traverse around the rock step, but I decided to try the east side instead. In hindsight, this was a mistake, because it turned out to be loose and I was blocked from rejoining the ridge crest for quite some distance by cliffs.

step

crappy east side traverse

looking back at the south peak

Once I was able to get back on the ridge, the rest of the way was straightforward. I couldn’t find any register on the summit, which seemed odd, so I proceeded further to a lower point called Horse Benchmark. That’s where I found a very old register. No signatures in the last 12 years.

Getting down from Tramp Ridge turned out to be slightly more convoluted than expected. The northwest ridge has some tall rock steps which forced me into the left side gully for a bypass. I rejoined this ridge below the steps for a pleasant descent back into the canyon.

south peak

Azure Ridge – 4829’ Something about Azure Ridge was alluring. I had a gut instinct that it was not often visited. But now I was feeling lethargic, and the temptation to hit Chipotle back in town was pretty strong. I decided to stick it out for one more peak. Especially since it might be many years before I return to this area.

Azure

I found the Million Hills Wilderness Study Area access road to be in excellent shape. I parked at the bend in the road which is closest to the peak. I hiked down an easy wash into a little basin and then crossed some ribs to reach the base of a west rib. There was one major cliff band half way up, but a break in the middle of it appeared as though it would go nicely. This turned out to be so.

easy passage

I passed over a high point and then turned northeast more directly toward the peak. There was another major cliff band right below the summit, but several gullies looked promising. I wouldn’t know for sure until I got there. I tried the first gully, furthest right and it was a bit loose, but not seriously challenging.

Azure

looking down the loose gully

This dumped me onto the upper east face and I could see the summit nearby to the north. After a short traverse with exposure below, I was there. I found an old tin can style register filled to the brim with dead flying ants. I dumped them out and pulled out the paper. The original party that left a register was in 2002, and nobody had been here since. (After the trip, my friend Laura Newman sent a photo I took of the register to one of the ladies from this group).

summit

Tramp

Virgin

Azure Ridge South Peak – 4826’ Now it was time to go to Chipotle. But I noticed the nice ridge connecting to the south peak. There were 2 hours of daylight left. According to the map, it was only 3 feet lower... Too close for comfort. I decided to go for it.

south peak

looking back at the main peak

The ridge run was fun and pleasant, but as I got closer to the peak, I saw a potential problem. Near the summit, a diagonal cliff appeared to be a stop to the route. I didn’t have the time to explore that, so I just dropped onto the west slope and made an ascending traverse below the crest, on steep loose terrain. No register present, but there was a small cairn.

Houston we have a problem

steep loose traverse

Azure

Azure south peak summit

Now time to boogy back to the care before dark. I descended to the saddle west of the peak and went up and over a large hill before following the most direct ridge back to my car. Along the way I was distracted many times by the fantastic fading colors of light, as the sun set. The alpenglow and shadow definition on Virgin Peak was especially good.

last light on the south peak

Virgin alpenglow

Azure

[Abert]

Thanks for posting. Your trip reports have rapidly become a valuable resource for visits to the Southwest. I always check to see if you have a report on a peak I'm considering. Really helpful in making an effort/difficulties/reward judgment as to whether something is worth doing.

[Gimpilator]

Thanks David. That pretty much makes my day to hear that my beta is getting used. Contributing to the pool of information I draw from is the number one motivator. I see you did Longridge recently as well as others in that area. Isn't that a fun one?