John Morrow Member


Joined: 03 Apr 2007 Posts: 1458 | TRs Location: Roslyn
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Down into the warm still air of the lower Colorado River Corridor, basing out of Katherine Landing in Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Katherine Landing is just a glorified trailer park, but offers some shade, free showers, and free wifi.
Dead Mountains Wilderness, NV
Black Mountains by Oatman, AZ and adjacent to Warm Springs Wilderness
Cottonwood Cove area of Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Lave Butte, Lake Mead North Shore
December 11: a loop connecting a couple summits, a narrow canyon, and a broad canyon with notable petroglyphs.
 DeadMtnsPictureCanyon
Key notes: the powerline road off US93 is a bladed gravel road OK for standard clearance (hardest part is hwy berm).
I could have went further along the powerlines before parking
After crosscountry southward I entered a nice easy canyon leading to an easy indistinct west rib of the first summit: Peak 3448'. Class 2 scrambling over to Peak 3467'. Descending the east ridge of 3467' to a north trending rib with excellent scrambling led down to a nice waterpolished granitic canyon and on to Picture Canyon with no more than Class 2 downclimbs of scenic dryfalls.
 gray day  up a side canyon  Spirit Mtn in rain  easy scrambling  above Picture Canyon  Descend thatta way  hmm, water polished canyon  into the canyon  descent route scramble  awesome wash bottom  dikes and seams  narrows  fun spot  power of water  smooth travel  Picture Canyon  wide dryfall  turning back upstream  spring  petroglyph sample, Grapevine Style  petroglyph sample 2  petroglyph sample 3  petroglyph sample 4  great sunset, heading out  Peak 3448 look back
Dec. 12: Boundary Cone, Peak 3360' and Peak 2880' scrambles.
Down to Oatman AZ for a Courtney Purcell classic plus a couple more aesthetic looking mountains.
Notes: Boundary Cone is almost continuous Class 2 and 3 and really really fun. With no beta on Peak 3360' I liked the looks of a steep rock gully to gain the knife-edgy and really fun and scenic SE Ridge, Class 3 with maybe a touch of Cl 4. The east slope made a nice easy Class 2 descent. The least unpleasant route up Peak 2880 (surrounded by continuous talus) looked to be a loose and unmemorable W/NW Ridge.
 BoundaryCone+2  just east of Boundary Cone  South side Boundary Cone  those later  Up to the saddle  great scrambling  and lots of it  more  fun exposed piece  Peaks 3360 and 2880 next  Mt Nutt Wilderness  Class 5.0 descent variation  the easier way  key notch low on ridge  great country  key gully to notch  Boundary Cone rises  knife edge  fantastic Class 3 route  SE Ridge just great  more of it  look back again  love this place  the easy east slope descent  3380 and route on skyline  descending 2280, really loose  hugged the left edge of slope  parting
Dec. 13: Lake Mead NRA, Copper Mountains East and West.
These are well known local scrambles in the Cottonwood Cove area above Lake Mojave. They can be kept at Class 2 with visible route finding. I chose some more solid looking ribs to get more scrambling in.
 SW Buttress of West Copper W Ridge Copper right saddle wash return of polished rock
Notes: the SW Buttress I chose to gain the summit ridge of the west peak got very steep and exposed (Class 4), Thus, getting my heart pumping mostly because I always suspect holds to be loose. I varied the east peak by going over to a nice solid low angle western rib to the south ridge, visible in the pics. A Class 4 variation stays right on the very south ridge crest. It can be avoided on the west, and goes over an arch that is not visible until returning the west slope Class 2 route. From near the central saddle, descend (or ascend) the eastern of the two main gullies/washes. It has very nice solid waterpolished wash bottom.
 lower left to upper right highpoint  aesthetic scramble  gets steep  steeper yet  fun inside corner  profile of buttress descending right edge  The center right ridge  interesting topography  heading to the west ridge scramble  wash between the 2 Copper Peaks  easier scramble, good rock  Ireteba Peaks  Spirit and Newberry Mountains to south  scrambling on the south ridge now  summit scramble was great Class 2  climbed over this initially  looking back at summit  cholla garden  take this one out of the eastern of the two saddles between the peaks  easy descent  almost down
Dec. 14: Lake Mead NRA, the ubiquitous Lava Butte.
Lava Butte is a short pleasant trip up a cone shaped hill, distinctive and visible from many locales along the North Shore of Lake Mead. Any variety of routes up a north/northwest side from a high clearance powerline road off NV-147, Lake Mead Boulevard. I chose a fun and solid rib, a left one of two separated by a pale white gully. An example of one of my several short casual easy days.
 Lava Butte NW Ridge (take rib left of gully)  surprisingly great scrambling just too short  it's a walk after this pitch  almost to the easier ground  Frenchman  Sunrise Mtn in there somewhere  wrinkled earth -------------- “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”-Mary Oliver
“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”
― MLK Jr. |
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