[Fletcher]

Josh Henderson was road-tripping the desert so I had to take advantage and go meet him. I caught a very early flight out of Denver on Monday morning, and Josh and I were cruising south towards Laughlin before 9am. Sugarloaf Peak was on our todo list on this day as its shorter, we'd be getting a late start, and its on Adam Walker's Best Desert Scrambles List, which I am becoming increasingly obsessed with. We didnt think much of the gusty winds on our drive south and although annoying on our approach, stoke was high. Until we topped out on the saddle NW of the peak... the winds were easily 40+ sustained. The type of wind where its difficult to stay on your feet. With exposure and class 4 above, we promptly bailed and retreated back below the saddle. After hiking up nearby Sugarloaf Mountain as a consolation prize, we drove down to Havasu for dinner and a little grocery shopping. That evening we drove back north to camp at the TH for Gold and South Domes in the Mojave Mountains National Wildlife Refuge which was the main objective of this trip. A good nights sleep under the stars was only briefly interrupted by a nearby snorting burrow. Up just after first light, the wind seemed calm and stoke was high! A couple miles of approach up washes brought us to our group of peaks. We decided on looping it a certain way where we could potentially go for a bonus peak in the afternoon so first up was Havasuper Peak enroute to Gold Dome. Fun scrambling and a really cool route up the north ridge with expanding desert views!

Josh scrambling

a nice route

The Colorado River

As we neared the summit of Havasuper, those pesky winds began to pickup again, to the point where we were on all fours on exposed terrain near the summit. Damnit. The routes on Gold Dome and South Dome are very exposed, potentially needing a rope, and the winds were just getting more and more intense. We continued up toward the saddle south of Gold Dome with very little hope that we'd be going for the summit. The strongest winds of the day were had at the saddle, so we once again retreated into a wash and hiked back to the car, very bummed out.

The impressive SE face of Havasuper Peak

Gold Dome

South Dome

Back at the car, we discussed a good peak to make my last day in the desert worth the visit. The winds looked less severe to the North, and we agreed that Pyramid Peak in Death Valley made good sense. Another pleasant night under an amazing night sky, bivied right at the beginning of the route. We were up and moving across open desert toward Pyramid just before 7:30 in the chilly desert morning air.

Pyramid

Josh in open space

A couple miles across open desert and we finally entered a wash SE of the peak.

first view of Telescope

entering the wash

The wash wasnt very long, until we climbed a steep 500 feet to gain Pyramid's SE Ridge. The wind was whipping up there, so we were glad to be on a more mellow route. The route from the wash up to the summit gains 3k in less than 2.5 miles. Good stuff!

Pyramid

Telescope

good stuff

summit in sight

Telescope!

views

views

views

We found some cover from the wind and hung out on the summit for a bit, enjoying the sunshine. The hike back down went quick, except for the long walk across the open desert that seemed to take forever. Not the original plan but a good consolation prize down in the desert!

cool cave on route

looking back

walking back to the car

DPS 12/95

[Now I Fly]

Nice report! That's such a great winter destination! I got up Telescope and a few others a couple years ago. I can't what to go back!

[raising3hikers]

Awesome pic of the Colorado river. Such a unique view! Nice work making the most of your quick trip

[Eric Hansen]

Thanks for the report and pictures Fletcher. Stevie Howe mentioned Pyramid to me back in the day, said there was a good bivouac spot on the summit. One other that was worthwhile 15 years back was ridge walking north from Dante's View. It was a boot path then but I hit google maps for Dante's View just now and "Mt. Perry Trailhead" popped up so it may be seeing more traffic. +1 on Telescope Peak. Yep, it is trail walk to the summit but a nice ridge walk with 11,000' of vertical relief below you. Michel Digonnet's "Hiking Death Valley" is hugely thorough, authoritative, with detailed descriptions of many off trail routes. A climber, he offers good detail on dry falls, other crux moves. Nuff said. I'd gladly go back.

[Gimpilator]

Sorry to hear you guys got blown off those scramble peaks. Definitely worth going back for. Pyramid is a great alternate choice, although a bit far from the road. Long approach for a desert peak, but not by Washington standards.

[RichP]

Here's Adam's desert peak list. I may tick a few off myself on an upcoming trip. https://www.peakbagger.com/List.aspx?lid=-943939&cid=2650

[Riverside Laker]

Funeral Peak is on that list. We climbed it a few months ago, and found a dead person on our return. So weird…

[nickmtn]

[Fletcher]

Riverside, so curious to hear the whole story!

[Gimpilator]

Actually Rich, that's not the one Fletcher was referring to. That's just the DPS list, including all suspended peaks.

[Gimpilator]

Told myself I wasn't going to promote it, but seems unfair not to clarify at this point. This project is still under construction and might change a little. Best Desert Scrambles

[John Morrow]

[Gimpilator]

[Eric Hansen]

Adam, don't want to add to your burden with a nit pick but I'll mention this thought. Headscratcher for me is in the DPS list (presume that is Sierra Club's original) listing Wheeler Peak when there are much more charismatic peaks nearby. I'm thinking Mount Moriah (huge sense of remoteness) and Mount Washington (mesmerizing bristlecone grove on its east ridge). But also Ibapah Peak in the Deep Creek Range (northern extension of the Snake Range, barely over the line in Utah). And Notch Peak in Utah. Maybe, they were more of a drive from L.A.? Memory has the Desert Peaks Group originating in the L.A. Sierra Club group.

[Gimpilator]

Eric, you bring up some great points. Yes DPS is Sierra Club. First peak list created in the west, so historic value there. There has been some controversy over the years about some of the selection, especially a few of the last ones added. And absolutely right, Notch or Ibapah would be much nicer additions than some of the existing ones. The thing I dislike about Sierra Club lists is the moving-target factor. Some peaks get delisted for access issues, while a few lists take on new additions over time. The scramble list I started was supposed to remain non-public until finished, but that didn't work out too well. The Sierra Club has asked me to come give a presentation about it at one of their upcoming gatherings. So this project needs a lot of work in the next few months. (Sorry for the topic drift Fletcher!)