Yesterday Jen Blackie and I climbed Ashford and Desert Hound peaks to the west and today we had a few other random peaks in the Zdon Peak List to choose from.  We decided to grab Ibex since I had seen the name pop up a number of times on Peakbagger radius searches and Jubilee since it was straightforward and along the way.  With the sun going down so early I figured we probably were not going to have time for anything else which did turn out to be the case.

We ended up spending extra time around Ibex due to the New American Mine / American Mine located on the southwestern slope.  We took a longer route to climb the peak and found one of the more extensive mines I've come across lately.

December 3rd, 2017 

Jubilee Mountain (2,526')

Ibex Peak (4,751')
Jubilee: 2.16 miles, 1,200'
Ibex: 6.6 miles, 2,100'

[Pics] [CalTopo] [MapJub] [MapIbex]

Panamint City is an old mining ghost town on the western edge of Death Valley accessible only by a fairly rough 7.5 mile hike and fairly well preserved as these things go.  In addition to several mines to explore there are a number of cabins that are maintained by visitors and year round water sources make it an attractive location for a backpack.

It's also possible to do two Desert Peak Section peaks from there which is why I'd come back in 2012 for a three day.  After making the long uninteresting slog down the ridge and back to Porter I always said I wanted to come back but that I'd only do Sentinel.

And as it happened fellow WTC staffer Gracia Plascencia was leading it this year as a combination Sierra Club I provisional and WTC Experience trip over Easter weekend.

April 14th &  15th, 2017

Sentinel Peak (9,634')

[Pics] [Map] [CalTopo]

Finally it was time for the first WTC Experience Trip of the 2017 season!  The Orange County section of WTC had just finished snow camp two weeks before which meant two of the other areas weren't even done but I was ready to get out of town.

This counted both as one of the two experience trips students need to complete in order to graduate and an provisional trip for Dave Jahng's Sierra Club I rating.  And even better it was something I hadn't done before!

It's also happen to qualify for the 2017 #HikeDeathValley program giving all the points needed for a super swanky free sticker in one trip.  So extra bonus!

And it was a blast!  Three days! 9-13 miles a day!  Water at both the camps!  1 DPS peak!  Rainbows!  Wild horses  Rain!  Hail!  Oh my!

March 24th to 26th, 2017
Canyon Point (5,890')

[Pics] [Map] [CalTopo]

We'd come across Hunter Mountain Road from Saline Valley the day before stopping at a few cabins and mines along the way but today was the main attraction with two easy peaks in a really spectacular area.


The Racetrack Playa in Death Valley is located a fair distance away from Furnace Creek and the main Death Valley attractions.  The road to get out there loops north of Tin Mountain and is rather notorious for how bad it is.  The park recommends a 4WD which is a little silly since it's really just the washboarding but it's pretty extreme levels of washboarding.  As long as you go slow and don't mind the occasional piece popping off your vehicle there's no reason to rent one of the expensive Jeep available.  We of course were in the Party Jeep and it was still painful since I was rather attached to all those little bits.

November 20st, 2016

The Grandstand (3,760')

Ubehebe Peak (5,678')

[Pics] [Map]

This weekend was an odd mishmash of exploring in the general vicinity of Saline Valley and Death Valley.  I wanted to double check the road would be passable for people coming out for the glow in the dark list finish the following weekend and then we settled on getting into Death Valley a new way and hiking Ubehebe and doing The Racetrack.

So this was more of a travel day than climbing.  See this for the Racetrack day.

November 19th, 2016

[Pics] [Map]

November 2nd, 2014
Brown Peak (4,947’)
[Pics] [Map]

Brown Peak is yet another peak on the Desert Peak Section List and one I'd originally planned to climb back in 2010 when I did Corkscrew for the first time.  That didn't happen when a storm hit big enough to cause everyone to flee the park due to flooding concerns.

So when Paul said his list finish was going to be on Corkscrew it seemed like the perfect opportunity to pick up a peak that was left hanging out there on it's own and really wasn't difficult enough to warrant a trip of it's own.

November 1st, 2014

Corkscrew Peak (5,084’)
Little Corkscrew Peak (4,720’)[Pics] [Map]

I'd done Corkscrew peak waaaaaay back in 2010 to flesh out a multiple day M-Rock provisional.  It had always stood out among desert peaks as one of those that just look awesome from a distance and are pleasant to climb.  If you've ever driven over Daybreak Pass you've probably noticed Corkscrew due to it's distinctive summit.

I was here to do it again because Paul Garry's Desert Peak Section List Finish meaning he'd climbed all 99 (-ish) peaks on the list.  In Sierra Club land this is an excuse for a summit party (not that we really need that much of an excuse...)

January 5th & 6th, 2013

Another winter weekend another long drive out to the desert to grab a pair of DPS peaks. And sadly they can't all be as pleasant as the pre-Christmas set had been.

This time it was off to Death Valley to climb Tin & Dry from Racetrack Road. Others had commented these two were a rough slog and after having done them (admittedly on a very cold weekend with bad weather) I can say they don't have near the appeal of some of the other nearby climbs like Corkscrew or Grapevine and Palmer. Not to mention the camping opportunities are poor and no campfires are allowed which takes away one of the perks of desert outings.

When:  November 5th & 6th, 2011

Telescope Peak is the highpoint of Death Valley towering an impressive 11,049' over an area which includes the lowest point in the US.

Most people do Telescope starting at Mahogany Flat where a trail runs 14 miles and 3,200' round trip.  That seemed a little pedestrian so we decided to do it the hard way and come up from the east where we'd start below sea level and climb over 11k in 24 miles.

Since going up is the fun part we made things a little more reasonable by planning to leave a car at Mahogany Flat so we could walk down the trail and save ourselves another 8k of knee killing descent.

November 13th, 2010
Telescope Peak (11,048')
[Pics] [Map]